Shattered Fragments
by Lilting Glamour
Summary: He expected perfection from himself; in everything he took part in, no matter what it was, he was never satisfied unless his performance was flawless. And that was how his life worked. He had always been perfect. Until she came crashing into his life, bringing chaos and impulse with her. And with it, the beginning of a first love. TezukaxOC. Some RyoSaku. Please read and review!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

It was just a normal day.

No one, least of all Tezuka Kunimitsu, expected that day to end in chaos and disorder.

Tezuka _hated _disorder. He didn't like things that weren't organised and set out properly; in fact, he didn't like anything that he hadn't expected. Everything that he did had to be clearly thought through and planned out before he actually did it.

Even planning out an ordinary training session had to be considered in detail, in order to achieve the best results.

Academics. Tennis. Reputation. Even his expression.

Everything had to be absolutely perfect.

Because he was a perfectionist, and nothing less than perfect satisfied him.

Of course, he didn't force his expectations on others. On the contrary, he was content if others simply tried their best in whatever they were doing.

As long as they did whatever they could, it was fine.

No, his high expectations were only placed upon himself. Tezuka expected perfection from himself; in everything he took part in, no matter what it was, he was never satisfied unless his performance was flawless.

And that was how his life worked. Until now, he had always been perfect.

Until she came crashing into his life, bringing chaos and impulse with her.

And with it, the beginning of a first love.


	2. Chapter One: Chaos

**A/N: **Hi everyone! This is my first extended PoT fanfic, so please read and review! I'm always happy to take any suggestions you have for the story! Just a note, if you're looking for the RyoSaku pairing, which was introduced later on in the story as per a request, go to Chapter Eight for the first scene.

This chapter is dedicated to everyone who sees this, as thanks for reading my story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

It had been a perfect morning.

At least, it had been for Tezuka.

Training had gone surprisingly well; Momoshiro and Kaidoh hadn't fought as much as they usually did, Inui had kept casualties of his disgusting juice to a minimum, Kikumaru had been strangely quiet, Echizen had actually turned up on time, and Fuji had been much more bearable than he normally was.

All in all, it had been an unexpectedly good start to the day.

If only it had lasted.

* * *

"Tezukaaaa!"

Before he could turn around, a heavy jolt caused him to stumble forward and almost fall.

Almost- but Tezuka never fell.

He would never allow himself to show any sign of weakness like that.

Not in front of those who respected and looked up to him so much.

"Nya, Tezuka! Where are you going now?"

The red-haired boy jumped off Tezuka's back and instead, stared inquisitively into his face. Behind him, Tezuka saw Fuji approaching at a leisurely face, amusement evident in his closed eyes and satisfied smile.

"Library," he muttered, turning away to go before Kikumaru decided to make them both the laughing stock of Seigaku.

"Saa, Tezuka, why don't we come with you?"

Tezuka stiffened immediately when he heard those words. Nothing good would come from Fuji's suggestion. However, Kikumaru didn't seem to think so.

"That's a great idea! Fujiko, let's go with Tezuka to the library!"

Without waiting to hear Tezuka's response, Kikumaru grabbed his arm and dragged him a few steps before he recovered from the shock and halted in his tracks. Kikumaru, finding that he couldn't pull Tezuka any further, turned and pouted.

"Come on, Tezuka!"

Sighing in irritation, Tezuka resisted the urge to massage his temples in frustration. Sometimes, Kikumaru's chatter could be mildly amusing, but right now, it was annoying him a lot.

"No."

"What? Why?"

"Na, Tezuka, why don't you want to come with us?"

Fuji's smile widened a little more as he spoke, and Tezuka saw it.

It was not a good sign of what was coming, and he knew it. That sadistic lift of the lips did _not _mean anything good, at least for Tezuka.

"…fine."

Kikumaru's pout disappeared as he grinned with glee, before appearing again.

"Hey hey, Tezuka, why did you listen to Fujiko, but not me, nya?"

Tezuka's headache came back in full force.

What had happened to the perfect day?

* * *

"Hirata-sensei."

Tezuka bowed to the librarian, a perfect low, ninety-degree bend that startled even the normally rigidly strict teacher.

An astonished, but flattered smile appeared on her face, and her cheeks flushed slightly pink.

"Ah, Tezuka-kun. Have you come to the library again? You are such a diligent student."

"Arigato, sensei."

Behind him, he could hear Kikumaru sniggering and whispering to Fuji.

"Hee hee, Tezuka has an admirer!"

Tezuka could practically _feel _the smirk that was growing on Fuji's face.

"Saa, I'm sure Hirata-sensei doesn't think of Tezuka like _that _at all-"

At this, Tezuka turned around and glared at Fuji, who innocently smiled back. Fortunately for him, Hirata-sensei had turned to another student, and had not heard his words, or Fuji would be running a hundred laps that afternoon.

As it was, he would still run laps.

"Fuji, fifty laps."

Fuji's smile only widened even more.

"For what, Tezuka? What did I do wrong this time?"

Tezuka opened his mouth to retort, paused, and then closed it. After all, Fuji hadn't actually said anything explicitly wrong. And Fuji knew it.

"For inappropriate comments in a school premise."

He figured he might as well try, seeing as Fuji was never going to stop with his sadistic comments.

"Saa, Tezuka, that's-"

But before he managed to finish his sentence, the unexpected happened.

"Watch out!"

A shriek was heard from behind him, and as Tezuka turned around, he managed to catch a glimpse of a blur, before he was knocked backwards.

He would have fallen to the ground, save for his fast reflexes.

Instinctively, he grasped the edge of the bookshelf next to him with one hand, while without thinking, wrapped his other arm around the person who had crashed into him.

For a moment, there was complete silence, as everyone froze. Even Fuji had stopped moving, eyes opened in shock.

And then Tezuka saw the corners of Fuji's mouth lift upwards; first a slow twitch, then a fully formed smirk. A smirk filled with surprised, sadistic glee.

He looked down, and immediately wished he hadn't.

The person he had stopped from falling was a girl.

A girl.

The only thing he could do now was pray that she wasn't his fan girl.

* * *

"…"

For a moment, she stared at him. He stared at her.

And in that second, all Tezuka could think of was how green her eyes were.

But then the silence was broken by Kikumaru's laugh.

"HAHAHA! Looks like Tezuka's finally learnt how to catch a girl, nya! Get it? Get it, Fujiko?"

"Saa, Tezuka, I didn't expect you to be so…_chivalrous_."

For one more second, the two stared in shock at each other. Tezuka was silently praying for her to not scream or faint while he was still holding her up.

And then she reacted.

"I am so sorry! I'll make it up to you, I'll do whatever you want! I'm so sorry for crashing into you like that-"

Tezuka let go of her as quickly as he could, stepping back and adjusting his glasses awkwardly.

"Hn."

He didn't know what else to say to her sudden outburst. She frantically bowed in apology, still talking to the ground.

"I didn't mean to run into you, honestly! It's just that I wasn't looking at where I was going and-"

Luckily, Fuji stepped in, smile on his face. Or maybe not so lucky.

"It's fine, I'm sure Tezuka doesn't mind, do you, Tezuka?"

Tezuka's left eye twitched ever so slightly at the pointed implications behind Fuji's word, but decided against saying anything.

Not at the moment, anyway.

"Aa."

At his reluctant sound of agreement, the girl's face relaxed with relief, and she began to ramble again.

"Thank you so much! I'll do anything to repay you, just ask and I'll-"

Suddenly, she stopped, and stared at Tezuka again, like she was seeing him for the first time.

Tezuka's eyes widened fractionally, and he prayed that it wasn't because she had recognized him.

"Wait a minute, aren't you-"

He closed his eyes, and waited for the screaming to begin.

"Aren't you that tennis captain?"

Many people had said it to him before, but the way in which she said it made him glance sharply at her in surprise.

Luckily, she didn't seem like she was about to faint. At least that was one thing off his mind.

She abruptly smiled widely, surprising Tezuka even more.

"I've seen you play before! You're really good!"

Tezuka blinked once, taken aback by the fact that she recognized him, but didn't act like a lovesick fan girl.

He didn't believe that every girl in the school was in love with him, nor did he want to; but he was surprised nonetheless at her nonchalance at his identity.

"Tezuka-san, right?"

"Aa."

"I think you're in my class! I never really pay attention, so I'm not sure, but I think you are…"

Her sentence was another unexpected shock.

Was she really in his class? Of course, he always ignored the female population of the school unless absolutely necessary, but surely he would have noticed if she was in his class.

She glanced down at the watch strapped to her wrist and gasped in horror.

"Oh no, I'm so late for practice! Sora's going to kill me!"

She seized her fallen bag from where she had dropped it, and sprinted for the door, waving a hurried goodbye to Tezuka and his two friends.

"Sorry again for bumping into you! Thanks for everything!"

And with that, she was gone.

Without losing a second, Kikumaru was on him, grinning evilly.

"Hoi hoi, Tezuka's in looove! Fujiko, what do you think?"

Fuji's smirk was laden with sadistic intentions.

"Na, Tezuka, that was very nice of you. I'm sure she appreciated it a lot."

Silence.

"Fuji, Kikumaru, another thirty laps."

* * *

A spiral-bound book lay sprawled on the floor, as if it had been dropped in a hurry.

He sighed resignedly, gazing absently at it. His perfect day had already been ruined, and class hadn't even begun yet.

Tezuka bent down and picked it up carefully. As he did, the book fell open to a page in the middle.

His mind froze with shock.

There, on the page, was a sketch of the sunlight streaming through a window onto a chair.

_The library window_, he realized, glancing over.

On the front of the sketchbook was a name.

_Wakanari Reika._

* * *

Please review! Thank you so much!


	3. Chapter Two: Confusion

**A/N: **I know the first chapter was really really short, because I didn't know what to write and I couldn't be bothered struggling through my writer's block, so this chapter is to make up for it. It passed five and a half thousand words! Enjoy reading!

This chapter is dedicated to myself, for finally writing a chapter over five thousand words.

Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.

* * *

Tezuka did not like noise.

It was unnecessary, useless, and extremely distracting.

And at the moment, there was a _lot_ of noise.

Giggling girls surrounded his table, batting their eyelashes at him whenever he glanced dismissively at them.

He was trying to complete his homework in the study break, so that he would not have to take it home. But at this rate, he was going to get nothing done.

With a sigh, he turned the page of his textbook, attempting to focus on the words in front of him.

"Tezuka-kuuun!"

No such luck.

Mentally sighing with irritation, he glanced up, to see a girl he vaguely recognized standing in front of him with a coy, flirtatious smile on her face.

He wasn't sure where he remembered her from, but he assumed that she was in his class.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, to indicate that he had heard her.

"Aa."

She giggled again, and flushed pink, sparing a look at her friends behind her, all watching them eagerly, before turning back to him.

"Tezuka-kun, could you _please_ help me with this question? I am _really _struggling to understand it, and you're _so _smart! Could you teach me how to do it, _please_?"

She fluttered her eyelashes at him, in a way that she must have considered alluring, but really made her look as though she had something caught in her eye.

His first instinct was to refuse, but if he did, there was a chance she might burst into tears, and if there was one thing that Tezuka hated more than giggling fangirls was one that he had made cry.

He had absolutely no idea how to deal with a crying girl, and he would do anything to avoid that situation.

Even if it meant putting up with flirting smiles and fake giggles.

"Aa."

Her coy smile immediately widened, flashing her teeth at him, and she turned back to her friends, all of whom were staring in disbelief.

"I can't believe it! Tezuka-kun agreed to tutor me! My life has just fallen into place!"

She rushed over and actually _jumped _into the empty seat next to him, her eyes forming hearts.

"Thank you so, so, so much, Tezuka-kun!"

Tezuka didn't know how to answer that, so he replied with a non-committal grunt, to show her that he had heard her thanks.

Rather than being intimidated by his lack of response, she only seemed to be encouraged even further, sliding closer to him, touching his arm and twirling her long blonde hair around her finger.

He reluctantly flipped open her book to the page she had been working on, and cringed at the sight of it.

Numbers were scribbled haphazardly everywhere across the page, and he couldn't even _read_ her solutions.

No wonder she needed help.

Turning to a blank page, he began writing out the solution again, while explaining to the girl.

"You substitute the formula into here, and rearrange the equation to solve for _x_, not _y_…"

Next to him, the girl nodded her head fervently, all while staring adoringly at Tezuka's face, not listening to a word he was saying.

What had he done to deserve this?

When he had finished explaining the question, he asked her, "Do you understand now?"

She blinked confusedly, before casting a cursory glance at the book before looking eagerly back at him and saying, "I'm really sorry, Tezuka-kun, but I'm not sure I understand yet. Could you please explain to me again?"

He wanted to massage his temples again. This could go on for the rest of the study hour, and only twenty minutes had passed.

Tezuka wasn't sure he could last through the next forty minutes.

* * *

But before he could politely refuse the girl, the other girls who had been listening immediately rushed over to his desk, crowding and jostling him.,

"No, Tezuka-kun doesn't have time to be teaching you again! He needs to help others as well, right?"

"Tezuka-kuuun, could you please teach me as well?"

"No, me!"

"He doesn't want to teach an ugly person like you! Why would he help _you_ when he could be helping _me_?"

"Tezuka-kuuun!"

Closing his eyes, Tezuka inhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down.

He would not allow himself to have an outburst, not here in the classroom, not ever in front of anyone else.

He had to maintain the perfect façade, the expressionless face that protected him from those around him like a shield.

Shifting in his seat, Tezuka opened his eyes briefly just in time to see the girl from yesterday walk past.

Before he could think, he stood up, and brushed past the squealing and arguing fangirls to catch up with her.

He was willing to do anything to stop the noise for even a second, and this provided the prospect of at least a momentary hush.

Besides, he had to return her sketchbook.

"Wakanari-san."

"Hmm...hold on a second…"

She turned around absently, still fully absorbed in the book she was reading.

"Wakanari-san."

At this, she looked up, a careless smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

For a few seconds, both of them were silent. She obviously still hadn't recognized him.

Behind Tezuka, the fangirls had _finally _fallen silent, and many were staring at the two, mouths agape in shocked expressions.

Another few moments passed, and Tezuka began to feel the awkwardness of the situation.

Maybe it would have been better to have talked to her privately.

Finally, a spark of recognition appeared in her eyes, and she jumped back, pointing at him and eyes wide.

"I remember you! You're the boy that- from yesterday?"

Her exclamation came out like a question, as though she was not quite sure whether it was him or not.

Honestly, she was the exact opposite of all his fangirls. She couldn't even remember who he was, let alone ogle him every minute of the day.

Whispers broke out amongst the girls behind him, and many glared at the dark-haired girl, who was still staring confusedly at Tezuka.

"Aa, that was me."

At his response, angry mutters broke out behind him, and he could hear every word that was said.

"No way! Is Tezuka seeing a girl?"

"There's no chance that he would be interested in such an ugly girl!"

"Ugh, just _look _at how she's dressed! Such a tomboy…"

"Do you think they are…"

However, the girl seemed oblivious to all of the whispers and stares that were being directed at her, but instead began to apologize frantically to Tezuka again.

"I'm so sorry about yesterday! I know I already said this, but I didn't mean to run into you! I-"

"You ran into Tezuka-kun?" a girl almost shouted.

A moment of silence passed in which she stared confused at the girl who had spoken.

And then chaos struck again.

"How could you hurt Tezuka-sama! You deserve to suffer for that!"

"How dare you!"

"You aren't even worthy to _look_ at Tezuka-kun! What makes you think that you can injure him like that?"

Several girls ran at her, seemingly intent on tearing her face and hair out.

The danger of her situation finally seemed to dawn on the girl, and she took one wide-eyed, fearful glance at the angry fangirls before she ran, and hid behind Tezuka.

Without thinking, his arm rose, and blocked a particularly aggressive girl from clawing her face with her long pointed nails.

In an instant, all of the girls had turned to Tezuka, with hurt and aggrieved faces.

"Tezuka-kun, why are you protecting her? She could have hurt you!"

"She deserves to be punished for her crimes!"

"Don't worry, Tezuka-kun, we'll avenge your injury!"

Tezuka wanted to cover his face with his hand in frustration. Why couldn't he have peace and quiet for just one moment during the day?

"Stop."

The word had come out before he had even realized, and a stunned silence fell upon the girls.

Finally.

"I need to talk to Wakanari-san about a private matter. If you'll excuse us."

In an as polite tone as he could use in his annoyance, he excused himself, discreetly picked up her sketchbook and strode out the door, before turning and lifting an eyebrow at the girl.

She was still standing where she had stopped, dumbstruck expression on her face.

He gestured with his head.

_Are you coming?_

And then walked right out.

* * *

Tezuka walked quickly out of the classroom, relieved to be away from all of the noise.

He would be content if he even had one minute of his day away from the loudness of the people around him.

"Hey, wait up!"

He turned to see the girl from yesterday jogging after him, looking breathless and flushed from the scuffle in the classroom.

He stopped, and waited for her to catch up with him.

When she arrived, a minute passed while she caught her breath, hands on her knees and head down.

After her breathing had slowed down enough, she stood up straight and looked at him with an exasperated expression.

"Honestly, you could walk a bit slower next time! I don't like having to run!"

"Hn."

She mock glared at him one more time, before huffing and giving him a look of curiosity.

"So, what did you so desperately want to talk to me about, Tezuka-san?"

"Ah, I have something to give to you."

He lifted the sketchbook that was grasped in his hand, and held it out to her.

A look of astonishment appeared on her face, as she hesitantly reached out, fingertips almost touching the book before she glanced up at him, eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion.

"Wait…where did you get this from?"

He adjusted his glasses with his free hand.

"You dropped it yesterday at the library."

The brief look of suspicion suddenly changed into one of surprised delight. The shift was so abrupt that it almost startled Tezuka.

Almost.

As it was, his poker face remained expressionless as she seized the sketchbook and hugged it to her body.

"I did? Thank you so much for giving it back to me! And for noticing and actually picking it up!"

"Aa."

A thought seemed to occur to her, and she frowned slightly.

"But how did you know who to give it back to? I mean, you didn't know my name…"

Tezuka barely refrained from hitting his own face in shocked frustration. Did she not even know that her name was written inside the front cover?

Of course, he didn't actually facepalm.

"Your name is written inside."

Completely ignoring his deadpan voice, she reacted with surprise.

"Oh, it is? I never realized that!"

Tezuka glanced sharply at her, to make sure that she was serious about this. Who didn't remember if they had written their name on their things or not?

Apparently, she was serious.

She had opened the sketchbook, and was examining the inside of the front cover with genuine interest.

"Oh, so that's how you knew? I was wondering how you knew my name back there! How did you know that my name would be inside?"

Tezuka didn't even have the voice to reply to that.

Fortunately for him, she didn't notice, but kept right on talking.

"But that was silly of me! I wrote the wrong name in here. I don't know what made me write that name in there…"

"…is Wakanari Reika not your name?"

She glanced at Tezuka briefly, almost dismissively, before looking back at the name written in the sketchbook with a frown still etched on her face.

"It is."

"…"

Tezuka's unspoken question hung in the air, and as if she had really heard it, the girl answered.

"But my name is Rei."

* * *

Completely oblivious to Tezuka's blank stare, Rei continued.

"Oh well, I guess I'll have to change it back. I'll do it after class, if I remember that long. Well, thanks, Tezuka-san!"

She closed the sketchbook and began walking quickly back to class, turning her head slightly to look back at him over her shoulder.

Tezuka just stood there, watching her go.

Long after she had entered the classroom, he thought.

She was the embodiment of a lot of things he disliked.

Noise, forgetfulness, lack of organization…all of these things he hated.

But for some reason, he didn't seem like he hated her. Not at all.

_It can wait_, he decided, dismissing the thoughts and walking back to the classroom to continue with the study break.

But when he walked inside the classroom, three things caught his notice.

Wailing and sobbing from girls that crowded around the doorway almost sent him reeling backwards, and actually made him halt for a moment.

That was the first thing.

The second thing that caught his eye was Rei, sitting huddled in the back of the classroom, evidently absorbed in drawing in her sketchbook again, and blissfully ignoring the crowd of fangirls who were sending glares at her.

And the final thing was in the form of Fuji, sitting in the empty chair next to his, smiling angelically at him.

The pure sadism that was in that smile froze Tezuka for a few moments more, before he slowly walked back to his seat, ignoring all of the fangirls who were talking tearfully and hysterically at him.

That smile did _not _mean anything good.

When he reached his seat, he stood in front of Fuji, face still expressionless.

"Fuji."

"Ah, Tezuka."

The said tensai looked back innocently at him through closed eyes, smile in place.

Tezuka could practically _feel _the glee that was radiating from Fuji.

"What are you doing here?"

"Saa, I'm not allowed to come and see my friend?"

Tezuka's stony glare sharpened.

"_Fuji_."

The boy's smile merely widened, and he said, "No need to get so angry, Tezuka. I merely came to talk to you about practice."

Tezuka's glare disappeared, and the tension in his face relaxed ever so slightly. He moved to sit in his seat, and began to talk quietly with Fuji, whose smile never faltered.

After a few minutes of discussion, Fuji nodded and got up to leave, nodding at Tezuka.

"Arigato, Tezuka."

"Aa."

At his monotone reply, Fuji's smile widened even further, and he turned back around to say something.

"Oh, Tezuka?"

"Yes?"

"When I was coming into the classroom, I heard something very interesting that your…classmates were talking about. Would you have any idea what it was about?"

Tezuka almost unnoticeably stiffened. And Fuji, like the tensai he was, saw it, and increased the level of sadism in his smile.

Without deigning to answer Fuji's statement, Tezuka seemed completely indifferent to the scandal he had caused in the class.

But Fuji knew better.

He leaned conspiratorially down to speak softly in Tezuka's ear.

"Ne, that reminds me. I saw something _very_ interesting just before I walked in."

His eyes deliberately flickered to Rei sitting obliviously in the back of the room, and he saw Tezuka's brief, involuntary glance in her direction as well.

"Let's just say I found it interesting enough to not forget for maybe…a few weeks. Or months."

"Fuji…"

Tezuka's voice became warning, and his glare intensified.

Fuji merely laughed softly in his ear, before standing back up and strolling out of the classroom.

"Relax, Tezuka, I won't tell anyone…yet."

Before Tezuka could assign him laps, Fuji was gone.

Resisting the urge to massage his throbbing temples again, Tezuka sighed quietly. Fuji could be so irritating when he wanted to be.

It was fortunate that he wasn't in the same class, or Tezuka's life would have become that much more painful.

As it was, his life span had already been shortened by a few years.

* * *

The rest of the day had passed uneventfully, and Tezuka's mood had improved slightly.

Ever so slightly.

Luckily for him, his many fangirls hadn't bothered him too much since the incident during study break, and he had not seen Fuji for the entire day afterwards.

He had caught a few glimpses of Rei, sitting at the back of the classroom, looking extremely bored and uncaring during class. Once, she had almost fallen asleep.

But he sat at the front of the classroom, in the position of the first ranked in academic studies, and he did not have the time to waste in looking back at a girl who he barely knew.

All in all, apart from the incident, his day had been tolerable.

"Ah, Tezuka! I was looking for you!"

Tezuka looked up to see Oishi walking over, looking happy to have found him.

"Oishi."

Smiling at his greeting, the vice-captain joined him, and they began walking down to the tennis courts together.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about the roster for the upcoming match against Fudomine."

"Continue."

"I think that we should put Fuji and Taka-san in Doubles 2. They have quite a good combination…and maybe Kaidoh in Singles 3?"

"Aa…that's a good choice."

"Yes, and about Singles 2…what do you think about putting Echizen in?"

"…We'll see."

Before Oishi could continue with their discussion, another familiar voice broke into their conversation.

"According to my calculations, there is a seventy-eight percent chance that the Fuji-Kawamura pair will win their match, and an eighty-six percent chance that Echizen will win his match, which is ninety-one percent likely to be against Ibu Shinji…"

"Ah, Inui, you're here!"

Oishi smiled in relief. Both he and Tezuka turned to the data player, who was preoccupied with scribbling in his notebook.

"Inui, what do you think about the match-ups against Fudomine?"

Inui adjusted his glasses.

"I think that in Singles 3, which is eighty-three percent likely to be against Kamio Akira, the speed player, Kaidoh will be the most effective player to put in."

Tezuka nodded approvingly, and Oishi marked down the names on the roster sheet.

"Doubles Two, I think definitely Fuji-Kawamura pair. They have the highest chance of success amongst all of our potential doubles pairs, except for the Kikumaru-Oishi pair, who are taking Doubles One."

Oishi smiled with pleasure, and as he wrote down the doubles pairs, another voice was heard.

"Hoi, hoi, I heard my name! Oishiiiii, you better not be talking badly about me behind my back to Inui and Tezuka!"

"Saa, I'm sure he isn't, Eiji."

At the second voice, Tezuka stiffened. Trust Fuji to turn up just when he was finally beginning to relax.

"Ah, Eiji, Fuji. Heading to practice as well?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to play against Fudomine!"

"I'm looking forward to it as well."

The five of them entered the locker room, and began changing into their practice clothes.

"Ah, I've just remembered something. Tezuka?"

"Yes?"

Tezuka turned around to look at Inui, who was frowning at something in his notebook, and tapping the end of his pencil against the page.

"Ryuzaki-sensei has informed me that we will not be able to use the tennis courts tomorrow, because of scheduled maintenance. We're going to have to find somewhere else to train."

"Aa."

Tezuka turned back momentarily to his locker, folding his uniform carefully while frowning.

In truth, he had completely forgotten about the maintenance that had been planned for tomorrow afternoon.

His forgetfulness was unacceptable.

"Is there any other facility available for training?" he asked Inui, while closing his locker.

Inui pushed up his glasses awkwardly, and flipped a page in his notebook.

"The problem is all of the other training grounds and facilities have been booked solid by other sports teams. There is no vacancy available anywhere. Even if we give up on playing matches and only work on physical training, we will have to compromise with another team."

Tezuka closed his eyes wearily, and turned away from his locker.

He would worry about this new problem when he got there.

"We'll think of a solution later. For now, we have practice. _Yudan sezu ni ikou*!_"

"Hai, buchou!"

* * *

Tezuka was not pleased.

At all.

Really, he shouldn't have expected anything from the noisy group of boys that made up the regulars of the Seigaku tennis team.

But the training was not going well at all.

Momoshiro and Kaidoh had been fighting since the beginning, Inui had been terrorizing the regulars with his new and "improved" Inui Juice, Fuji had been whispering sadistic suggestions in his ear, and Kikumaru had been talking enough to partially deafen him.

Not to mention Kawamura had been having issues with his father, Echizen had been even more reluctant to participate than usual, and Oishi, Oishi, out of all people was making mistakes.

Barely half the training session had passed, and already, he had given out laps enough to run the legs off anyone.

Anyone human, that is.

All of the regulars were sprawled out on the ground, panting and gasping for air, except for Fuji, who was smiling sadistically as usual, next to Inui, who was writing feverishly in his notebook and muttering about more stamina training.

And of course, Tezuka himself.

His headache had intensified incredibly, to the point where his temples were throbbing painfully and all he could think about was the end of the practice.

"Everyone, we will play practice matches now."

Half of the regulars groaned in exhaustion, and Kikumaru whined.

"Nya, Tezuka, why do we have to play when we're so tired? Come on, give us a break!"

Tezuka studiously ignored him and continued giving out orders.

"Momoshiro and Kaidoh, Court D!"

Momoshiro groaned again and slumped back onto the ground.

"Man, I can't feel my legs…"

"Baka peach, what a pathetic idiot," Kaidoh scoffed, slowly getting to his feet.

"What did you say, Mamushi!"

Momoshiro was up in a flash, both he and Kaidoh at each other's throats.

"You want to go!"

"Bring it!"

Tezuka pretended he couldn't see or hear them, continuing down the list.

"On Court C, Kawamura and Kikumaru!"

"Ah, let's have a good game."

"Of course, nya! Let's go!"

"Echizen and Fuji, Court B!"

"…mada mada dane."

"Saa, I'm looking forward to this match."

Tezuka looked up from the list that Inui had given him.

"Oishi and I will play on Court A. Everyone, go to your assigned courts and begin!"

"Hai, buchou!"

Everyone scattered to their respective courts, and Tezuka massaged his temples one last time before following Oishi to their court.

* * *

"Game and match to Tezuka, six games to three!"

Oishi wiped his forehead exhaustedly, leaning over the net to grasp Tezuka's extended hand.

"That was a good game, Tezuka. We should definitely play again sometime."

"Aa. Same to you."

Tezuka sat down on the bench and carefully took off his glasses, wiping his face with his towel. He was more tired than he had expected to be; testament to Oishi's skill.

Looking over at the other courts, he saw that none of the matches had been completed yet. Inui was walking back towards their court, scrawling in his notebook as usual and muttering to himself.

"Inui, how are the other matches going?"

"Hmm? Oh, Court B is 4-3, Fuji leading on serve, Court C is 4-2, Taka-san leading, and Court D is…currently locked at a stalemate at two games all, Momoshiro to serve."

"Hn. We will have to practise more."

"What was the final score of your match?"

"Ah, it was six games to three, to Tezuka. Guess he's a lot better than me." Oishi smiled good-naturedly, not in the least resentful towards Tezuka.

"Hmm, it seems that we will have to increase the amount of physical training soon," Inui commented.

"Aa. Have you figured out a solution for tomorrow's training session?"

Inui adjusted his glasses almost sheepishly.

"About that…none of the other sport teams I have inquired from so far have any available space for us to practise on. Except for the all-girl cheerleading team…who have volunteered to allow us to use their training area instead."

An image of screaming fangirls materialized in Tezuka's mind, and he inwardly shuddered.

There was no way he would train there.

"That is not an option."

"Yeah…I guess so. But where else are we going to train then?"

"Perhaps-" Inui's voice broke off.

"What is it?" Oishi asked curiously.

"Isn't that the captain and vice-captain of the girls' basketball team?" Inui inquired. Oishi immediately turned around, craning his neck. Tezuka continued staring at the court, while sipping from his bottle.

It was none of his business, and he was not interested.

"Who are you talking about?"

"The two girls walking past over there. I believe that is Igarashi Sora, the captain of the basketball team that made it to runner-up at the Nationals last year. And it appears to be Wakanari Reika beside her."

At the familiar name, Tezuka glanced around, and caught sight of the dark hair as two girls walked past the courts.

"Isn't Wakanari your classmate, Tezuka?"

Tezuka cast a brief glance at Inui.

"Yes, she is."

"Igarashi-san is in my class!" Oishi exclaimed. "I never knew she was captain of a National-level basketball team!"

"Yes, well, she led the team almost to the championship last year while she was a second-year. It was an impressive feat." Inui pushed up his glasses again, and surveyed a page of his notebook.

"Incidentally, both she and Wakanari were on the varsity team even as freshman."

"REALLY? Sugoi…they must both be really good…"

At that moment, Rei happened to look around, and caught sight of Tezuka sitting on the bench outside the courts.

"Oh, Tezuka-san, it's you!"

Both Inui and Oishi instinctively glanced at Tezuka, and then back at Rei. Tezuka looked around, face as emotionless as ever.

"Aa."

Rei jogged up to the courts, followed at a more sedate pace by her friend. An easy smile was already in place, and she flashed a grin at Tezuka, who nodded stiffly back.

"I see your team is training really hard. No wonder you guys are in the finals!"

"Thank you."

"No problem!" She laughed casually, and pushed up the sleeves of her jacket to her elbows, freeing her arms from their constraints. "If it wasn't for Sora, our team would never train at all."

"What was that, you lazy good-for-nothing excuse for a player?"

The other girl had come up behind Rei, and hit her lightly on the head, messing her hair.

"Hey! Sora, don't be so mean to me!"

The blonde girl scoffed, hitting her lightly again.

"Pfft. Then shut up and get back to practice!"

All three of the tennis regulars blinked and backed away slightly from Sora, who was becoming more terrifying with every second.

However, Rei, despite Sora's threats, did not seem fazed at all. In fact, she looked amused by them.

"But Sora, can't you see I'm talking to Tezuka-san?"

Tezuka blinked once. When did he become involved in their argument?

Sora didn't seem surprised at all. She glanced indifferently at Tezuka, said nonchalantly "Hello, Tezuka-san," and proceeded to greet Oishi and Inui in the same manner.

She seemed to see Oishi as a friend, which encouraged him to start a conversation.

"Igarashi-san, is it true that you're the captain of the varsity girls' basketball team?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Trust Inui to know everything before others do," Oishi muttered under his breath.

"My data is infallible," retorted Inui, scribbling in his notebook again.

Sora seemed willing to talk with the regulars for a short time. "Are you the vice-captain of the tennis team, Oishi-san?"

"Ah, yes…"

"That's impressive, handling such a responsibility along with your student council duties."

Oishi flushed pink, to the amusement of Inui, who continued to scribble frantically in his book.

"Really? It's nothing…compared to Tezuka…"

Sora didn't seem to notice Oishi's embarrassment at the praise. She turned to Tezuka. "You're captain of the tennis team as well as being president of the student council and number one in academic rankings?"

Tezuka nodded silently, as a confirmation.

She repeated, "That's impressive" at the same time as Rei burst out, "Really? Wow, you're amazing, Tezuka-san! I can't even handle being vice-captain of the basketball team!"

Tezuka didn't really know what to say in response to such praise, and settled for nodding in acknowledgement.

Inui suddenly broke into the conversation, pencil and notebook at the ready.

"Wakanari-san, does the basketball team train in the gym?"

Rei looked slightly surprised that Inui was addressing her instead of Sora, who seemed to be the obvious person to ask, but readily answered.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. Why?"

"Ah, the tennis courts will be under maintenance tomorrow, and we're having a few problems finding a place to practise…"

Tossing her dark, messy braid over one shoulder, Rei stared at the ground absently, not even really paying attention to the conversation. .

"Well, I suppose you could share our training courts with us."

Tezuka's eyes darted to her face in surprise, but his reaction was absolutely nothing compared to that of Sora's.

"…Rei."

"Yes, Sora?" She turned, having absolutely no idea of her impending doom.

Sora's eyes narrowed, her nostrils flared white, and her breathing began to get heavier. Rei discreetly edged away, suddenly looking nervous.

"…did you just offer the tennis club our _training courts_? The courts that _we_ should be using to _practise _for the district tournament?"

"Er…yes?" Rei's face took on a sheepish expression, and she backed even further away, cringing when Sora inhaled slowly.

"_Rei_." Sora took a step forward, glaring at the dark-haired girl, slowly advancing on her with a menacing aura radiating.

Even Tezuka took a step back, unsure of what to do.

"W-wait! Hold on a second! I can explain!"

Rei was now holding her hands out in front of her, trying to calm a furious Sora down.

Oishi tried to intervene. "Ah, it's fine if your team needs the court…we can find somewhere else…"

His words trailed off, completely ignored by both girls.

"You have _five _seconds to explain before I drag you by your hair down to the courts and make you do _five hundred _push-ups. Starting now."

Looking even more panicked than before, Rei hurried to explain.

"I just thought that since we have an extra court anyway, that maybe the regulars could use it to exercise on? Just the last court," she hastened to add, as Sora's glasses glinted ominously in the light, "the one we almost never use anyway!"

Sora paused for a second, and seemed to be weighing her choices carefully. Everyone, including Tezuka, to his surprise, found themselves holding their breath as they braced themselves for the explosion.

"Fine."

Rei's eyes widened, and she stuttered, "W-what?"

Sora looked mildly irritated. "I said fine." She turned to Tezuka and the others, and said briskly, "You can use one of our courts tomorrow afternoon, for physical training _only_. No attempts at matches or even hitting a ball."

Surprised that she had agreed, Tezuka nodded in acquiescence.

Oishi was the first to answer. "Arigato, Igarashi-san! We appreciate your generosity!"

She waved it off dismissively. "It's fine, no need to worry."

She turned to leave, before pivoting on her heel and looking back at the three regulars.

"Oh, before I forget, there are a few conditions. Three, in fact."

"What are they, Igarashi-san?"

"One, you will remain in the confines of the court assigned and the stands."

"Fair enough," Inui agreed. "Anything else?"

Sora nodded. "Two, there will be no disturbances or interfering with our team's training. That means minimal noise and absolutely no fighting."

Tezuka nodded in agreement.

"Aa."

"What was the last condition?" Oishi inquired, looking relieved that they had solved the issue of a training area.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"The third is that there will be no distractions. Under any circumstance."

There was a long silence.

Finally, Tezuka nodded, feeling as though he had just signed a contract for his life.

Sora seemed satisfied. She nodded briefly at the three regulars before saying, "Until tomorrow, then," before spinning around and heading towards the gym.

"Hurry up, Rei! We have practice now, and if you're late, I will make you run a _hundred _laps around the courts!"

Rei smiled brightly, as though she was unaware of the tense atmosphere.

"Alright, then I guess it's settled! You're joining us tomorrow afternoon!"

* * *

Rei laughed carelessly, and smiled at all three of them in greeting, before she turned to go.

"See you around, Tezuka-san!"

She jogged off after her friend, half-turning to give him a friendly wave.

"Aa."

Turning around, Tezuka saw Echizen and Fuji standing behind him, watching with smirks on their faces.

"Mada mada dane, buchou."

"Echizen, ten laps."

"Saa, Tezuka, you're in a particularly bad mood today…would you care to tell me why?"

"…Fuji, twenty laps."

* * *

**A/N: **Finally finished the chapter! *jumps around in celebration* I hope you enjoyed it! Please review, because I appreciate the time you've taken in reading all the way to the end of this chapter in the first place, and it will only take a minute to make my day. Thanks!

_Yudan sezu ni ikou_- Don't let your guard down. It's Tezuka's catchphrase.


	4. Chapter Three: Disorder

**A/N: **_Shattered Fragments _reached four hundred hits! I know that isn't a lot, but it means a lot to me. This story is progressing better than I thought it would, but don't raise your expectations- it will probably take a long time for me to update, because I'm trying to make every chapter at least over six thousand words. But until the next update, enjoy reading this story, and please review! I really appreciate it when someone spends their time writing me a review- it makes my day!

This chapter is dedicated to all of the people who reviewed my story. Thank you all so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

"Rei."

The dark-haired girl turned around, wiping her face with the end of a towel draped around her neck. "Yeah?"

Sora huffed impatiently. "What are you doing? Have you forgotten about the shooting practice we do after every training session?"

Rei blinked. "…what?"

A long pause. Sora's exasperated expression was intensifying with every moment that passed, and she was on the verge of hitting herself in the face with her palm.

How could anyone be that absent-minded?

Suddenly, _finally_, Rei's face brightened in understanding. "…oh right, yeah! We do!"

She ran back onto the courts, carelessly throwing the towel onto a nearby bench. Sora sighed in irritated amusement, put down her own water bottle, and followed her to the court. On the way, she greeted fellow team members who were leaving.

"Goodbye, Igarashi-buchou!"

"See you tomorrow, Sora-buchou! Don't forget your homework!"

One of the starting members, Hasegawa Yuki, smiled brightly at Sora, who returned it in her stiff, distant manner.

"Yes, what is it, Yuki?"

"Sora-buchou, do you know what school we are playing against in the finals of the district tournament?"

Sora glanced down at the clipboard she was still holding, flicked through a few pages, and finally found the sheet she was looking for. Pulling it out, her eyes searched down the page until she found the name of the school.

A tense silence passed. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips twisted, a sure sign of anger.

"Buchou?"

Yuki's words broke Sora out of her trance. Glancing up at the tall, black-haired center player, she uttered two words.

"Iwaki Gakuen."

Eyes widening momentarily in surprise, the center nodded in understanding.

"I see. Arigato, Sora-buchou."

She waved cheerily, and walked off with the other players from the gym, heading home. Sora snapped the clipboard closed before putting it down on the bench and heading down to join Rei, who was already carelessly shooting with a ball that had been left behind after practice.

As she approached, her best friend looked up with an easy, lopsided smile on her face. "Finished, Sora?" At the blonde's nod, her smile widened.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's start!"

"Sure, why not."

Sora glanced around and spotted a ball lying a few metres behind her. In a few short strides, she had reached it and picked it up. Spinning on her foot, and without hesitation, she aimed and released the ball rapidly, and it soared through the air and fell straight into the basket.

She adjusted her glasses and glanced at Rei, smirk on her face. "Let's see you do better than that, moron."

Rei flashed a smile at her, before taking a long step back and while letting herself fall backwards, and without even aiming, released the ball, which spun in a beautiful arc, spiralling through the air, before it plunged into the basket, without even touching the hoop.

Rei looked incredibly smug. "Let's see you do better than _that_, idiot."

Sora allowed herself a small, genuine smile, before she released the ball again.

* * *

"Tezuka."

The captain looked up from testing his racket strings, and was confronted with a pair of blue eyes, staring right at him.

If he hadn't caught himself in time, and froze his poker face on, he would have been caught off guard.

But he expected perfection of himself, and perfection was what he got.

So his face remained emotionless.

"Fuji."

The said tensai smiled, and his scheming, all-knowing eyes disappeared behind hooded lids.

"Aren't you going to head home yet?"

Tezuka glanced around, and realized that the rest of the regulars, save for Fuji, had already left and were heading home.

"Aa."

Standing up, he slipped his racket into his bag, zipped it up, and easily swung it onto his back, walking right out of the door. Fuji followed closely behind him.

As they did almost every day, they walked slowly down the street together, a comfortable silence hovering in the air.

At least, comfortable for Fuji.

Tezuka knew that Fuji was planning something. That subtle, barely even noticeable tilt of the corner of his mouth spelled trouble for him.

And sure enough, five minutes into their walk, Fuji broke the silence.

"Saa…Tezuka, can I ask you something?"

"…Hn."

Tezuka knew that he would not like what Fuji was about to say in the least, but the monosyllabic reply came out reflexively, and…he had to admit it. He was slightly curious.

_Slightly. _

Fuji paused. Tezuka wasn't sure whether he was just doing it for dramatic effect or not.

"Are you close with Wakanari?"

Tezuka glanced sharply at the tensai. He seemed serious, but the question was unexpected. He had expected Fuji to ask something more personal and…sadistic. However, although the question was uncharacteristically straightforward of Fuji, he was surprised to find that he didn't have an answer.

"…Wakanari-san and I are…acquaintances."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew that it was a lie. Not a complete lie; after all, he almost didn't know her at all. But there was something in the way she talked to him that made him feel almost…as if she were a friend.

He would never admit it to Fuji, but the tensai was looking at him knowingly, as though he knew every thought that was running through Tezuka's head.

"Are you sure that's what you are?"

Tezuka paused. That slight hesitation was his undoing. Fuji's speculative look immediately morphed into a sadistic smile, and he turned back to the front, as though he had his answer.

"Tezuka, you can be so dense sometimes."

A long pause.

"Fuji, fifteen laps at practice tomorrow."

"But Tezuka, don't you remember? We're training at the gym tomorrow, where Wakanari-san will be watching. Don't you want to look good in front of her?"

"…Fuji."

"Yes, Tezuka?"

"…thirty laps."

* * *

The pillow had a nice smell.

That was the first thought that ran through Rei's head. The second was to go straight back to sleep.

Unluckily for her, it was the moment when she had just fallen asleep again when her phone rang shrilly.

_Ring ring. _

She groaned sleepily, and turned over, burying her face into her pillow.

_Ring ring._

Dragging her blankets over her head, trying to block out the sound, she cringed at the persistent, irritating sound.

_Ring ring._

Rei had had enough. She was not a morning person, and she _hated _being woken up in the morning any earlier than she had to.

Mumbling incoherently into her pillow, she blindly reached out, feeling for her phone from where it was ringing on her bedside table. Finally, her fingers touched it, and she grasped it as she brought it up to her ear and pressed the "receive" button.

"…what is it?" She didn't even bother glancing down at the caller ID, slumping back into her pillow.

"_Rei, are you ready to go yet?_"

She would know that voice anywhere. She groaned, the sound partially muffled by her pillow. To anyone else, the sound would have been indistinguishable, but for Sora, even over the phone, her sharp ears heard it.

"_What are you doing?_"

"Go away, I'm trying to sleep," mumbled Rei, still half-asleep.

An ominous silence came from the other end. And then Sora's anger unleashed itself. Her heavy breathing could be heard clearly.

"_Rei. Get out of your house. Right. Now._"

"Fine…just five more minutes…"

"_REI. You have two seconds to get up before I make you do two hundred push-ups. With one hand! GET UP RIGHT NOW!"_

"Alright! Jeez, I'm up, okay?" Rei grumbled, as she rolled out of bed, hair tousled and messy. Seizing her towel from where it hung over her chair, she headed into the bathroom, holding her phone to her ear with her right shoulder.

"_Good. I'll see you before class._"

The call cut off, and Rei removed her phone, throwing it back onto the bed. Stifling a yawn, she walked into the bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her reflection. And froze.

Staring into the mirror, all she saw was the girl she had tried so hard to forget and leave behind.

_Have I really left myself behind?_

Rei slowly reached out, and without even thinking, lightly touched the mirror. Brushing her fingers against her reflection's cheek.

She slowly, deliberately covered the eyes, the eyes that were staring accusingly back at her.

_You're a coward_, they seemed to say. _You're a liar. _

She didn't want to see any more. She hated mirrors so, so much.

She turned away, and didn't look back again.

* * *

He was content.

As Tezuka walked along the street, school bag slung over his shoulder as he headed towards school, he savoured the golden silence that surrounded him.

The walk to school was often almost worth all of the noise that irritated him so much during the hours he had to spend in school. No one spoke to him, and no one expected him to speak.

It was perfect.

"Tezuka-san?"

He turned, and with a dim flicker of surprise, recognized Rei, who was walking towards him with a surprised look on her face.

"Wakanari-san," he stated briefly, as his greeting. She didn't seem to notice his reluctance to talk.

Dressed carelessly in her school uniform, with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, top button undone, and tie loose, she was the definition of what he hated the most.

Disorder.

But he didn't find it appalling for once- in fact, he almost didn't notice her untidy uniform at all.

"Do you live around here, Tezuka-san?" Rei's hands were busy sweeping up her long dark hair into a messy knot at the back of her head.

"No." Before coming to school, Tezuka had actually made a detour and visited the sports equipment shop to purchase a new roll of grip tape. "I was at the sports equipment store."

Rei's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, you go there too?" At Tezuka's nod, she laughed freely, tossing her head back. "I go there as well! They sell the best basketball shoes I've ever seen!"

"Aa." Tezuka remembered now. She was the vice-captain of the basketball team. But when he looked at her, he could scarcely believe that someone so small, lazy, absent-minded…_carefree_, could even be a basketball player, let alone the vice-captain.

"I suppose you were buying something for your tennis?"

"Yes."

"What did you buy?"

"New grip tape."

Tezuka was caught off guard. Somehow, without even trying, Rei had drawn him into a conversation. A rather one-sided conversation, that was true, but nevertheless, a conversation.

He glanced briefly at her, adjusting his glasses with his left hand. He was beginning to understand why she was the vice-captain. Although she was not strict, organized, or dedicated, there was a subtle _aura _about her- a faint…_inspirational _feeling.

It was not a common gift.

"…for training today?"

Tezuka jolted out of his thoughts, slightly startled. He hadn't really been paying attention to what Rei was saying. He hadn't heard her last question, and she was looking expectantly at him, waiting for an answer.

But he didn't want to admit he hadn't been listening and ask her to repeat the question.

That would be admitting he had made a mistake, something that he would never allow himself to do.

Rei smiled easily at him, flashing a glimpse of her even teeth. "You weren't listening, were you, Tezuka-san?"

He shifted uncomfortably, irritated because he knew he hadn't been listening, but relieved, because he didn't have to ask. Not knowing how to answer, he settled for a non-committal grunt.

The dark-haired girl laughed again, her green eyes bright with amusement.

"Don't worry, I'll spare you the humiliation. I asked you if you were prepared for training today."

Tezuka's expression remained completely stoic. But internally, he sighed with relief. "Yes, we will not waste our time before the district finals."

"Ah, you're also in the finals, aren't you? We have the district final playoffs this Friday. When are yours?"

"In two days."

"Really? That's the day before ours! If I have time, I might come and watch you play! I'm sure you're really good. I mean, you're the captain, so you must be good!"

Tezuka didn't know how to reply to that. Her naïve admiration was so disarming and unexpected that he was speechless.

However, Rei seemed to assume that he was simply being his usual self- silent and statue-like. "I would ask you to come and watch our game, but you're probably too busy, and I'm not very good at basketball anyway. I'm not anywhere close to-"

At that moment, a chilling, knife-sharp voice interrupted her. "_What?_"

Without even turning, Rei instantly cringed, cowering at the sound. Surprised by her expression, Tezuka turned around to see Sora standing behind them, an expression of disbelieving fury on her face.

In the back of his mind, Tezuka noted that they were already at the school gates. It was strange, he thought, he hadn't noticed the fact that they were at school already at all.

It was very strange.

"Did I hear you just call yourself _not good_?"

"N-no, S-Sora," Rei stuttered, backing away slowly and wide-eyed. Sora was advancing menacingly on her, eyes flashing with anger.

Tezuka was taken aback by the intimidating aura of the blonde captain. No doubt she ruled her team with an iron grip.

"My my, what is going on here? Tezuka?"

He glanced sideways, and saw Fuji standing next to him, smiling angelically as always. His eyes were open, watching Sora and Rei with interest.

"Hn. I don't know."

Fuji darted a brief, calculating look at Tezuka, before looking back. "I see…Igarashi-san can be very intimidating, can't she? Wakanari-san looks terrified."

It was true. Rei was completely fear-stricken, stumbling backwards as Sora advanced on her, hissing furious words.

"Don't you have _any _idea how good you are? And you're going around telling other people that you're _no good_? Are you _trying _to ruin our reputation and dignity in front of the whole school?"

"But…"

"You say _one more word_, and you're doing a hundred sit-ups at training today!"

Fuji laughed lightly. "Saa…Igarashi-san sure is a captain to be feared. Don't you think, Tezuka?"

He glanced dismissively at the smiling tensai. "Aa."

"Why don't you say more, Tezuka? I'm sure you're the only one who understands the burden of…_disciplining _others."

"…ten laps at practice."

Fuji's smile widened even more. "I rest my case."

But before Tezuka could assign Fuji even more laps at that afternoon's training session, Sora stalked over, dragging Rei behind her. The two boys looked at her in surprise and the slightest hint of curiosity.

"I apologize for my vice-captain's lack of dignity," she said formally, bowing slightly, and forcing Rei's head down as well. "I assure you she will be _disciplined_ for it."

"More like tortured," Rei muttered, before grudgingly subsiding as Sora shot her a glare laden with threats.

Tezuka nodded stiffly, unsure of how to reply to such an apology, while Fuji simply smiled, as if he knew that this was going to happen all along.

"It's fine, Igarashi-san. No need to apologize for anything."

Straightening up, Sora nodded curtly to both of them before turning to leave, hitting Rei on the head one last time and shooting her a warning glare, while adjusting her glasses deliberately.

"Don't even _think _about turning up to practice today like that, or…"

Her sentence trailed off, leaving an ominous feeling behind. Rei swallowed nervously, and nodded frantically. "Hai, Sora!"

The basketball captain strode off, leaving the three seniors behind. As soon as Sora was out of hearing range, Rei sighed with relief, turning back to the two tennis regulars.

"Thank God, she's finally gone!"

Fuji chuckled lightly, raising an eyebrow at her words. "Ne, Wakanari-san, why did Igarashi-san react like that?"

Rei waved a hand at him. "You don't have to address me so formally! Sora always overreacts whenever I say anything that she thinks is undignified. She's always so bossy!"

"Ah, really?"

"Yeah! Just wait until training this afternoon, you'll see why she's actually a demon come from Hell to ruin my life and force us to spend our lives in torment!"

Fuji laughed again, saying, "I'll be looking forward to it then, Wakanari."

"So will I! You guys can watch us play! Say, Fuji, would you be able to?"

Both of them simultaneously turned to Tezuka, and looked at him speculatively.

Rei whispered in Fuji's ear. "Do you think Tezuka-san will let you?"

The tensai smiled, blue eyes opening secretively. "Saa, it depends on whether he's in a good mood or not."

"How do you get him into a good mood?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe if we are silent during the entire training session…do you know? You are in his class, after all."

"I don't know! I usually sleep through classes. I don't pay any attention at all!"

"Hmm…why don't we ask him directly?" Both of their gazes had not left him during their entire conversation, as they whispered to each other conspiratorially. "Ne, Tezuka, do you mind if we watch the basketball team train?"

Tezuka, whose mood had grown worse as the two had whispered about him, felt the words slip out instinctively, before he could even think about it. "No. We must practise for the district tournament finals."

Fuji didn't seem fazed at all; in fact, he turned to Rei with a smile and murmured, "Maybe we'll have a better chance if you ask him."

Rei nodded enthusiastically, and turned to Tezuka, bright smile on her face. "Hey, Tezuka-san, can't you spare a _little _time for the team to watch us? I'm sure Sora wouldn't mind…"

"The match against Fudomine cannot be neglected."

"But you're only doing physical training anyway! Maybe watching us will give you ideas about how to train!"

Tezuka could feel his resolve weakening. With Fuji looking at him with those conniving eyes, and Rei so eager for them to watch, he couldn't see an escape from this situation, no matter how hard he tried.

"…Fine."

"Yay!" Rei jumped up and down, grinning with excitement, and before he knew what was going on, had bounded over in one long step and hugged him around the waist.

* * *

Tezuka froze.

Froze like a statue, stiff and cold with shock.

He was extremely uncomfortable, but his old-fashioned chivalry prevented him from pushing Rei away.

Over her shoulder, he saw Fuji's brief expression of shock slowly dissolve into a plotting smirk.

Not good.

Fuji reached swiftly into his pocket, and before Tezuka could realize what he was doing and order him not to, pulled out his cell phone and snapped a few pictures of the two.

_Click_.

The snap jolted Tezuka out of his shocked position and he shifted uncomfortably. Fortunately, Rei hadn't realized his awkwardness and released him, taking a step back, completely oblivious to what had just happened behind her back.

"Thank you so much, Tezuka-san!" she sang happily. "I'll see you in class!" And with that, she had run off, light-footed and swift.

Immediately, Fuji was on Tezuka, like a wolf pouncing on its prey. "Tezuka, I didn't know you were so drawn by Wakanari. You actually let her hug you. Ne, someone's moving fast."

Tezuka closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and exhaled. His mood had worsened, and he was not prepared to deal with Fuji's sadism.

"Fuji, if you don't hand over those photos and stop making inappropriate comments, you'll be running fifty laps."

"Hai, hai," the tensai chuckled, pulling out his phone again. "I'll delete them now." He looked up suddenly, eyes open again. "But I'm curious. Why did you say to hand over the photos instead of deleting them? Do you want to keep them for yourself that much?"

"…Fuji, forty laps."

"Ne, Tezuka. Why are you giving me so many laps today? Is it because I'm being too friendly with Wakanari? Because you know, I don't see her that way at all…"

"…Fuji."

The tensai smiled innocently, looking completely clueless about the migraine he had just caused for Tezuka.

"What is it, Tezuka?"

"Sixty laps at training."

"Tezuka, I wouldn't have expected you to be the jealous type."

"…"

"Hmm…that goes to show that I can be wrong sometimes…"

"Seventy laps."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Tezuka's headache only grew worse and worse. Fortunately, classes passed by without too much drama, and the throbbing in his temples had been alleviated slightly by the time the final bell rang.

He slowly packed his bag, neatly organizing his books and papers into folders. He felt a faint twinge of satisfaction as he looked at the array of neat and well-organized files.

He liked perfection, and perfection was what he gave himself.

"Tezuka-san?"

He turned to see Rei, the dark-haired girl already with her bag slung casually over one shoulder.

"Hn."

"We should be going down to training, right? Want to go down together?"

"Aa."

Rei didn't seem to be daunted by his curt, monosyllabic replies at all; in fact, she seemed as though she had completely ignored them. "Are you sure you'll be fine with just one court? I mean, it's not much space, and if you need more…"

"It's fine, only the regulars are training today."

"Ah, I see."

A comfortable silence descended between them. Tezuka was surprised; in any other situation, the silence would have been awkward, but when Rei was the one who had started it, it didn't seem that way at all.

It all seemed as though she had intended it to be like that. He didn't know- maybe it had something to do with the faint charisma he could sense in her a while ago.

Tezuka adjusted his glasses, pushing them up. He didn't even know why he was thinking so hard about it- it was none of his business, after all.

"Nya, Tezuka, wait up! We don't know the way to the-"

The cheery voice that had interrupted the silence suddenly broke off in mid-sentence, and Tezuka turned around to look. It turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes he had ever made.

Standing behind them was Kikumaru and Inui, both with expressions of shock on their faces.

Tezuka cringed internally, knowing exactly what was about to come. Both of the regulars snapped out of their shock at the same time. Identical evil grins appeared on their faces, and Inui whipped out his notebook, muttering to himself and scribbling frantically in it.

"Oh. _Oh. _I see…"

"Ii data…"

Kikumaru bounded forward, seizing Tezuka around the neck and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "Hoi hoi, Tezuka, I didn't think you had it in you! When did you two get together? Tell me, tell me!"

All of this time, Rei had been staring at Inui and Kikumaru with a confused expression on her face, not knowing what was going on at all. Tezuka resisted the urge to massage his temples again; his migraine was coming back in full force.

"Kikumaru."

The red-haired boy completely ignored the captain's words. "Wait until Fujiko hears about this! He'll be so happy!"

Just when Tezuka thought it couldn't get any worse, a new voice interrupted. "Saa…that won't be necessary. I already saw them this morning."

Fuji had appeared behind the two regulars, sadistic smile already firmly in place, and he was closely followed by Momoshiro, whose shocked expression was already fading into a knowing smirk.

"So Tezuka-buchou has a girlfriend? She's so cute! As expected of our captain!"

"You're right, Momo! She is cute!"

"I agree."

"According to my data, there's a twenty-three percent chance that Wakanari-san is Tezuka's girlfriend…"

"So low?! But they're so cute together!"

At this point, Tezuka lost his control. His headache was stabbing sharply into his temples, and he was incredibly irritated by the blatant assumptions that his team was making. But before he could order the regulars to run laps and be quiet, Rei spoke for the first time.

"Ah…could someone tell me what's going on?"

As if by magic, all of the regulars became silent, staring at her in disbelief. Even Tezuka, whose tense, stone-like expression hadn't faltered in the slightest in the chaos, looked at her askance.

Kikumaru was the first to speak. "You mean…you don't know that you and Tezuka are together?"

"Together?" She glanced at Tezuka quizzically for a second, before her expression cleared. "Oh! You mean are we dating?"

All of the regulars except for Fuji and Tezuka sweatdropped at her straightforwardness.

"We aren't dating! I mean, we're just classmates, and we only started talking, like two days ago…"

"Really? But you two seem so much like a couple!"

"What's going on here?"

Tezuka turned around again, and almost sighed in relief when he saw Sora approaching with Oishi by her side.

"Ah, Oishi, Igarashi-san," Fuji smiled. "What are you two doing together?"

Oishi immediately flushed pink. "Ah…that is…we were…"

Sora, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow. "We're classmates," she deadpanned. "We were discussing the allocation of space down at the basketball gym."

Tezuka nodded stiffly, relieved that the subject had steered away from dangerous waters.

Sora continued methodically. "We can only spare one half-court, but towards the end of the training, we may need to use the full court. Do you mind sitting out during our game?"

It was a reasonable request. Tezuka would be satisfied if they got any training done at all. After all, he hadn't expected training to be able to proceed that day. "Of course not."

Turning on her heel and seizing Rei by the arm, Sora walked briskly off down the hall. "What are you waiting for, then? Let's go to training!"

The regulars watched her in surprise for a moment more, before they hurried off after her.

"Hey, wait up!"

* * *

"Hey, Tezuka-buchou?"

"Aa?" Tezuka turned around, and was met by the sight of Kaidoh, who was bowing respectfully. The second-year had always had incredible respect for his captain.

"If you wouldn't mind me asking, but how are we going to be training today?"

Inui answered for Tezuka. "Since we'll only have a half-court to train on, we'll be working on physical training only. We'll be doing stamina and agility exercises, which will be determined by the amount of space we have. The rest will have to wait until we get there."

Kaidoh nodded awkwardly, and thanked both Inui and Tezuka before retreating to his own corner to change.

Momoshiro asked loudly, "Hey, where's Echizen? He's late again!"

"Huh? O-chibi's not here? But everyone's supposed to be here!"

"According to my data, Echizen will be here around about-"

Just as he spoke, the freshman walked in nonchalantly, with his tennis bag slung over his back.

"-now."

Tezuka observed Echizen stiffly. "Echizen, why are you late?"

The freshman regular didn't seem to be ruffled at all. "Ah…I didn't want to come."

"That is not an excuse."

"We're not playing tennis. What's the point of coming?"

Inui interrupted. "You need to work on the basic fundamentals. They are just as important as technique."

"Yadda."

"If you don't want to, you're free to drink this instead."

Out of nowhere, he produced a jug of bubbling Inui Juice, glasses glinting ominously. All of the regulars cringed at the sight, cowering away from him.

Apparently, the threat had worked. "Fine, I'll stay."

Tezuka had ignored everything that had just happened in the temporary changing rooms. He was already standing fully dressed by the door, ready to go. "What are you doing? We don't have a lot of time before the finals. _Yudan sezu ni ikou._"

"Hai, buchou!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Rei was already stretching in the gym, along with the other varsity basketball players. She easily touched her toes, before arching her back gracefully into a bridge.

Next to her, the small forward, Nagasaki Shizuka, smiled at her in exasperation. "Rei-senpai, must you always be such a show-off?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Shizuka, you can't talk." She was right- the small girl performed handstands and cartwheels whenever she had the time and Sora wasn't watching.

Yuki was calmly stretching on Rei's other side, reaching for her toes. "Both of you waste so much time messing around. I'm surprised Sora-buchou hasn't made you both do her Hell's Regime yet."

Shizuka blanched at her words, glancing nervously around for Sora, but Rei laughed carelessly and waved it off. "Pfft, she's not even here. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Wakanari-fukubuchou!"

Rei turned around. "Hmm? Who's calling?"

One of the reserve bench players ran up to her, bowing breathlessly. "The tennis regulars are at the door, and they said that they're training here today! What should I do?"

To the second-year's surprise, Rei waved it off absent-mindedly again. "Ah, yes, show them in."

"But Wakanari-fukubuchou…"

Shizuka looked confused. "Wait, what? Rei-senpai, why are you letting the tennis regulars come in? This is our training area, not theirs!"

"Sora said they could train here today, because their courts are under maintenance. Don't worry, they'll only use one half-court." Gesturing at the reserve player, Rei pointed at the door. "Go and bring them in!"

"Hai, fukubuchou!"

As the second-year ran off, Yuki stood up, stretching her muscles. The third-year center was tall- very tall. She easily towered over both Rei and Shizuka, who were both quite small for basketball players.

The tennis regulars, who had just walked into the courts, gaped at the scene that lay before their eyes.

Momoshiro stared blatantly at Yuki in shock, next to Kaidoh, who was also in a similar state of surprise.

"That girl is so tall! She might actually be taller than me!"

"Yeah…"

Tezuka glanced briefly at both of the second-years, and under his watchful gaze, the two subsided. However, all of the regulars continued to stare at her, amazed by her height. Even Tezuka was impressed. No wonder the basketball team was so good at what they did.

Rei had seen them come in. Gesturing to Shizuka, she jogged over, with a friendly smile on her face. "Hey, you found your way here! Sorry about the girl who didn't let you in, she didn't know you were coming."

Tezuka nodded in acknowledgement. "It's fine."

Kikumaru edged up to Rei and nudged her in the shoulder. She glanced around. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Nya, who's that super tall girl? She's so tall, she makes O-chibi look like an ant!"

"Hey, Kikumaru-senpai, that's insulting."

Rei looked over, and immediately realized who they were talking about. "Oh, you mean Yuki? Yeah, that's Hasegawa Yuki. She's the center player of our team, so she has to be tall. The only person who is almost as tall as her is Akira, but even she is easily more than five centimetres off…"

The tennis regulars gaped at her, filled with awe. "Wow…I didn't know there were such tall girls in this school…"

"Yeah…so tall…"

Shizuka had followed Rei over to the entrance to the gym. "Oh, are you the famous tennis regulars?"

Kikumaru immediately caught wind of a fellow mischief-maker, and he turned to her. "Yeah, that's us! Who are you?"

"Me? My name's Nagasaki Shizuka, second-year. You?"

"Hee hee, Kikumaru Eiji, third-year! No wonder I haven't seen you around before! Do you know Momo or Kaidoh?"

Shizuka glanced over at the direction he pointed in, and her mouth fell open in shock. She jumped back a step, pointing at Momoshiro, who looked equally as shocked. "YOU!"

He recovered swiftly. "What the hell? Since when did _you _play basketball, Nagasaki?"

Shizuka immediately reacted, turning white with anger. "What did you say, moron? Speak for yourself; I can't believe such a pathetic, cowardly wimp would be one of the famous tennis regulars!"

Before Momoshiro could retort angrily, Kaidoh burst out into a scornful laugh. Momoshiro was on him in an instant.

"What did you just say, Mamushi?"

"I said nothing, which you would have known if you had _listened_, baka peach!"

"You're such an idiot, Momoshiro! Hey, don't just ignore me like that!"

As the three argued loudly, Tezuka could feel the headache coming on again. But this time, he didn't have to do anything.

"Shizuka."

The girl froze, and the two fighting second-years also stopped, all three turning to face the person who had spoken.

Out of all of the people there, the one they had least expected to get angry was Rei.

Her eyes were half-closed, but the way they were hooded made it seem as if she was staring at them without blinking.

Shizuka swallowed nervously, hands suddenly shaking. "Y-yes?"

Surprisingly, Rei didn't say anything, but glanced deliberately at Shizuka, and then at the door. All of the tennis regulars were confused; however, Shizuka seemed as though she had gotten the message. She turned pale, and backed away frantically, apologizing profusely as she went.

"Gomenasai, fukubuchou! I didn't mean to disturb practice like that! I swear, I'll never do it again!"

Rei's silence lasted a few seconds more. Just when all of them, including Shizuka, were beginning to dread the explosion that was surely going to come, Rei suddenly opened her eyes and smiled brightly.

"Good! Now let's go back to stretching, otherwise Sora will murder us both!"

All of them stared at her in amazement. Her sudden mood shift bewildered all of them, especially Shizuka, whose eyes were twice their normal size in shock.

"What was that about me?"

Sora was back, and behind her was Yuki, towering over even the tall basketball captain.

Rei smiled lazily at her. "Ah, nothing, nothing. Shall we start training?"

Sora looked at her suspiciously, but decided to say nothing about it. "Hmph. We should have done that long ago," she scoffed. "Speaking of which, where is Akira?"

"Akira? I have no idea. She's probably late again," explained Yuki, in her slow, kind way.

Sora nodded, before turning to Tezuka and nodding stiffly again. "Ah, Tezuka-san, I trust your whole team has arrived?"

At his nod, she continued. "You'll be using that half-court," as she pointed to one end, "and I expect there to be minimal noise during the training session, as well as unconditional obedience of the conditions we set."

"Of course."

"Also, we will be needing the full court for the last half-hour of training, so you have to finish your training before then. Is that fine?"

"Yes."

"Of course, you're free to watch our game if you like, and you can sit in the stands to watch." She nodded again to Tezuka, before turning to the other three basketball players there, as well as the reserve players standing over at the bench, and shouting, "What are we waiting for? Start off by running ten up-and backs, starting with a jog, and increasing to a sprint by the last lap! Anyone who falls behind does fifty push-ups!"

"Hai, buchou!"

* * *

**A/N: **So Rei finally shows her dark side! I finally finished this chapter- I was stuck for so long on the development of Tezuka and Rei's relationship, I thought I'd never get it done! If you're reading this, you've already scrolled down this far. While you're at it, why don't you review? Please do, I really appreciate people reviewing my stories, and it means a lot to me. Thanks so much!

Next Chapter: The basketball match! And we meet Akira, the mysterious final player!


	5. Chapter Four: Disarray

**A/N: **So…This is Chapter 4! I'm so happy that this story has come this far, and thank you to all the readers who have reviewed my story! The story has reached eight hundred hits! I'm so happy! In this chapter, the basketball match will take place, and Akira, the final player, will appear! I intend to develop all of the basketball starting players, but Rei will remain the most important, followed by Sora. Of course, don't forget about the Tezuka/Rei relationship! I will make sure to post a chapter filled with the pairing soon (not this one though). Until then, enjoy the new chapter!

This chapter is dedicated to _aehlta_, one of my best friends, who has reviewed every chapter of _Shattered Fragments _so far, and is my inspiration as a writer. If you haven't read her stories yet, read them!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

"Hey, Inui-senpai?"

The data player turned around at the sound of his name, pushing up his glasses with the hand that was holding the pencil. "Yes, what is it, Momoshiro?"

The second-year regular coughed awkwardly, running his hand through his hair nervously, as though he was unsure of how to phrase his question.

All of the tennis regulars were sitting in the front row of the almost empty stands, as they watched the basketball regulars prepare for their impromptu game. Sora was standing in the centre of the court, arms crossed, as she shouted at the players to put equipment away and clear the area.

"Um…I'm not sure how to say this…but are you sure that Nagasaki is _that _good? I mean, she always seems like a…no offence, but an _idiot _in class. And she's so small, too! I don't understand how she can be a basketball player."

Two seats away from him, Kaidoh huffed scornfully. "Like you can talk, baka. You're even more of an idiot than Nagasaki."

"Oi, what did you say, Viper?"

"I said you were an idiot, _baka peach!_ Shut up!"

"Say that again, Mamushi?"

"Hey, hey, that's enough!" Oishi intervened, trying to calm the two fighting second-years down. "We're guests here, don't distract the basketball team!"

The two grudgingly subsided, shooting angry glares at each other. Between them, Kawamura was sitting quietly, glancing nervously at the two.

"Back to your question, Momoshiro…" Inui flipped through the pages of his notebook, searching methodically through his multitude of notes. "Nagasaki-san is actually a starting player of the team, so yes, she is good."

Momoshiro stared at him blankly. "Um…what's a starting player?"

"The five starting players are the players who spend the most time on the court. There's the center, Hasegawa-san. She is obviously the tallest, so she stays in the area near the basket and shoots from there, besides catching rebounds as well. Are you keeping up?"

"Yes…"

"Then there are the two forwards, the small forward and the power forward. Judging from the appearance, I believe Nagasaki-san is the small forward, who doesn't have to be very tall, but has to be fast. That's why she can still be so good."

"I see…what about the other three?"

Inui continued rattling off his explanation. "The power forward also has to be very tall; they have to make a lot of the shots near the basket. That position, according to my data, is currently filled by another second-year named Kurenai Akira."

Kaidoh whipped his head around, surprised. "Ah, Kurenai? She's in my class- she is really tall as well."

"Yes. To be precise, she's one hundred and eighty six centimetres tall- exactly five centimetres shorter than Hasegawa-san."

All of the regulars gasped in awe. "But that means Hasegawa is over a hundred and ninety! Sugoi, she's so tall!"

"Then there's the shooting guard. I know for a fact that Wakanari-san is the shooting guard- actually, she's apparently the best in all of Japan's high school division."

"REALLY? I didn't know she was _that _good!"

"What's Igarashi-san then?"

"She's the point guard of the team, the player who controls and strategizes the entire game. In a way, she's the one in control of the game."

"…no wonder she's the captain."

Back on the court, Sora had walked over to the side of the court, as the reserve players had finished putting away the equipment. The other three starting players were sitting on the bench, drinking from their bottles.

Sora shook her head disapprovingly, glancing around. "Is Akira still not here?"

"Nope, she's late again!" Shizuka scoffed, but glanced around carefully all the same.

"Well, if you see her tomorrow, tell her that she's going to do fifty bench presses as punishment for not turning up again."

The brown-haired girl paled. "Hey! Why am I the one who has to tell her? Why can't you?"

"Duh, because you're the only one in the same year as her," Yuki deadpanned, with a blank expression.

"But-still, that doesn't mean I see her all the time! We're not in the same class! That stupid punk cherry!"

"_What _did you just call me?" a dangerous voice came from behind. Immediately, Shizuka gulped, turning around slowly. The other players followed suit, and standing behind them was a tall girl glaring at the small forward, who had turned white.

"Akira!" Sora did not sound happy. "Why are you late again?"

The girl had dark red hair that was cut in an uneven style, with one side several inches longer than the other. With dark blue streaks in her hair, the colours should have clashed, but her intimidating aura pulled it off. There were several piercings in her ears, and a tattoo was visible beneath the collar of her top.

She glanced indifferently at Sora, as if she didn't care what the captain had to say. "Sorry, buchou, won't do it again." The sarcasm was obvious, even though it was veiled.

Sora looked as though she was about to explode. However, she took a few deep breaths, and stepped up to Akira, staring at her in the eye.

The tennis regulars watched the confrontation with wide eyes, riveted to the scene.

Kikumaru whispered to Fuji in a loud whisper, "Nya, look at those two! Are they going to fight?"

Although Sora only came up to Akira's chin, her menacing aura made up for the immense height difference, and the two stared each other down, without moving. The other three players watched nervously, unsure of how to intervene.

Rei walked over to the tennis regulars, while eyeing the staring contest warily. As soon as she came within range, Kikumaru was on her.

"Hey, Wakanari-chan, aren't you going to stop that?"

She laughed sheepishly, left hand running through her long hair. "Haha, no When Sora and Akira are like this, no one interferes." When Momoshiro looked as though he was about to protest, she added, "Trust me, we all learnt the hard way."

Behind her, Shizuka had come up, and when she heard the vice-captain's words, she nodded fervently. "Yeah, Rei-senpai is right! Once, one of the reserve players tried to intervene, and Akira almost broke her nose!" She shuddered at the thought. The tennis team looked at her in astonishment.

"Seriously? She punched the girl in the face?"

"Didn't she get in trouble?"

Yuki nodded seriously. "She got suspended for a week. Sora was furious- we had a match during that time. She argued with the principal for ages before she got permission for Akira to play in the game."

Fuji opened his eyes, watching the two continue to glare at each other. "It's impressive- Igarashi-san is holding her ground against Kurenai-san."

Rei nodded. "You don't have to worry- Akira will back down eventually. She respects Sora, even though it doesn't look like it."

Momoshiro asked curiously. "Hey, Wakanari-senpai?"

She turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Are those piercings and tattoos even allowed?"

"Well, they aren't, but Akira has never cared about rules, and I guess the school decided that she could be an exception to the rule because of her talent in basketball."

"What? That's not fair!"

Shizuka laughed scornfully. "I know, right? That punk cherry has never given a damn about rules, and the school just lets her get away with it all the time!"

Kikumaru asked curiously. "Hey, why do you call her a punk cherry?"

"Well because she is a punk, and the cherry part is because she has red hair, and her name means red, right?"

At the red-haired boy's confused look, she explained. "Her name's Kurenai, you know?"

Inui nodded, writing in his book again. "Ah, yes. _Kurenai _means crimson, doesn't it?"

"Inui, why are you writing this in your book?"

"Good data."

Rei interrupted their conversation, pointing at Sora and Akira. "Look, it looks like they're done!"

Sure enough, Akira had finally backed away from their glaring contest, and she huffed in annoyance, taking a step back. "Fine, I apologize, buchou. I won't be late again."

Sora didn't seem quite satisfied, but she seemed to accept it. "Alright, now that's settled, we'll be playing the game!" She pointed at Shizuka, who looked startled. "Me?"

"Yes, you! Go and fetch a ball! You!" She pointed at Yuki next. "You're doing jump ball."

The center nodded, walking leisurely towards the court. Sora continued with her sharp instructions. "Right, Takeda, Kaji, Miyamoto!"

The three reserve players she had called out jumped up. "Yes, buchou?"

"You three are playing. And-", she narrowed her eyes, looking around at the rest of the second-string players. "Watanabe and Takashi. You're on the same team."

The five second-stringers nodded in obedience, before walking onto the court together, clearly discussing team strategy. Sora turned back to the other two starting players. "We're going on as normal, no changes to the line-up!"

Rei looked surprised. "Wait, Sora…" The captain turned around, eyebrow raised. "Aren't you going a bit hard on the second-string? I mean, the starting line-up…"

Sora merely turned back towards the court. "We need the practice. Now both of you, get on the court now!"

Rolling her eyes, Akira sauntered off, muttering, "Pfft, how boring", while Rei turned back towards the tennis team with a smile on her face. "Well, have fun watching!"

Fuji smiled back, nodding. "Good luck, Wakanari-san."

"Thanks, but we don't need it!" She turned to Tezuka, her smile widening. "Watch carefully, Tezuka-san. You'll be blown away!" She laughed at her own words, and Tezuka found the tension in his jaw relaxing slightly. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips momentarily, before disappearing.

No one noticed, except for Fuji, who smiled enigmatically, and Inui, who jotted down notes on Tezuka's facial expressions.

Tezuka leaned slightly forward, and said, "Wakanari-san?"

She turned, looking curious. "Yeah, what is it?"

There was a brief hesitation, before, "Have a good game."

Rei's eyes widened for a second, and their eyes suddenly caught each other, locked in a brief moment together. Then she relaxed, and her smile, which had faded away suddenly, was back.

"Of course!" She winked, before jogging over to join the rest of her team on the court. Tezuka sat back in his seat, crossing his arms. A few of the regulars smiled secretly, before turning back to the game.

"On the count of three!"

* * *

Shocked.

That was one of the only words that could describe the state of mind that the regulars were in.

From the moment the whistle had been blown, the starting players had shot into action. But it wasn't that which had so amazed the regulars. It was the ease with which they blew past the second-string players.

The boys watched in silence, awestruck at the utter domination they were witnessing. Momoshiro's mouth was wide open, as was Kikumaru's. Oishi and Kawamura were watching with wide eyes, and Inui had actually stopped writing in shock. Fuji had his eyes wide open, watching everything that went on, and Kaidoh was leaning forward intently. Echizen was actually paying attention to something for once, watching the game with interest.

Even Tezuka had sat up, observing the game with surprise.

Because from the very start, the game had been completely one-sided. Yuki had easily defeated her opponent in the jump ball, knocking the ball out of the air, right into Akira's waiting hands.

As soon as she had gotten the ball, the second-year player was off, streaking down the court. Despite the attempts of two opponents who had tried to stop her, the power forward had easily ricocheted through and slam dunked the ball into the basket.

It only got more terrifying after that.

Shizuka was extremely fast, dribbling the ball with lightning speed and breezing right past her opponents, despite all their attempts at defence. She darted her way through the players, and easily scored.

Yuki was a good twelve centimetres taller than her tallest opponent. As soon as she got the ball, she would jump up, higher than any of her defenders, and slam the ball into the hoop with terrifying ease. Her kind, easy-going demeanour off the court had completely vanished.

As expected, Akira was probably one of the most terrifying of all the starting players. She forced her way through whatever defence lay in front of her, with her tall build and incredible handling of the ball, shooting from whatever angle she was at with ease.

Rei went through the biggest change. Gone was the easy-going, careless girl- in her place was a focused, merciless player who scored from as far as the half-way line with almost painful ease. Wherever she was on the court, as soon as she got the ball, she shot. Every single one of her shots arched through the air gracefully, and not one of them even touched the hoop, let alone missed.

And Sora- it was clear to the watching tennis regulars why she was captain of one of the best basketball teams in the nation. Nothing escaped her calculating gaze; no matter who was in front of her, she would slip past them with her flawless footwork and score or pass.

It was clear to everyone watching who was in control of the match.

Momoshiro was the first to break the silence. "...w-what is _that_?"

None of them knew how to answer. Inui was scribbling in his book, pages of notes already filled by the ten minutes that had passed of the match. "According to my data, the first-string players have a hundred percent chance of winning this match."

"No kidding! The other team hasn't even scored a point yet!"

It was true. The score was already forty-six to zero, and only half of the twenty-minute match was over. The second-string players were trying their hardest to score, but even their utmost attempts at defending were run over by the starting players. They weren't even able to keep up.

Tezuka watched them play with something akin to amazement. Although he knew they were a National-level team, he hadn't expected them to be _that _good.

The players had stopped for a quick break at half-time, and Rei jogged over to them, towel around her neck, followed by Sora at a more leisurely pace.

"So what did you guys think? Good?"

"Are you kidding?" Momoshiro got out. "You were _amazing_!"

Rei's smile widened, and she flashed a glimpse of her teeth at him. However, Sora only scoffed and folded her arms. "You think? We could have done a lot better."

Ignoring Kikumaru's disbelieving protests, she turned to Inui. "You're the data player on the tennis team, yes?" At his nod, she continued. "I'm assuming you took notes? Did you notice anything we could work on?"

Inui pushed up his glasses, and flipped back a couple of pages in his notebook. "Ah, yes, I noticed that Kurenai-san, your power forward player, has a habit of driving straight for the basket a lot. Eighty-three percent of the time she approached the basket in the last ten minutes, she used the same tactic to bypass the defence."

Sora nodded attentively, for the first time seeming interested and keen. "Yeah, Akira has a rather one-track mind. Anything else?"

Inui nodded, eyes flickering through his notes. "I also noticed that Nagasaki-san has a clear preference for her right hand; eighty-nine percent of the time she was dribbling, she would attempt to use her right hand to handle the ball as much as possible."

Rei rolled her eyes, and leaned over to whisper to Kikumaru. "Is it just me, or do people with glasses all have an obsession with perfection?"

The red-headed acrobat nodded eagerly, grin on his face. "Yeah! Tezuka's also like that- he's such an annoying perfectionist!"

Tezuka deliberately ignored his words, instead choosing to ask Rei a question that had been hovering in his mind as he watched the game.

"Wakanari-san?"

She looked at him, green eyes bright with enthusiasm. "Yeah, what is it, Tezuka-san?"

He hesitated. "That was a good game."

She beamed at him, smile filled with bright, painful happiness. "Was it? Thanks, Tezuka-san!"

He nodded stiffly, and as Rei turned to answer a question from Momoshiro, he thought back to the game she had just played in.

* * *

_Yuki passed the ball to Akira, the tall center easily throwing it over her defender's head and into the waiting hands of the red-haired girl. _

_Akira sprinted towards the basket, easily covering the first half of the court in a few long strides. But there, she halted momentarily, eyes flickering to each member of her team. A defender stood in front of her, attempting to intercept the ball. _

"_Hey, punk cherry! Over here!"_

_The tall girl glanced towards the call, and saw Shizuka, who had slipped past her defender and was holding out her hands ready. _

_A smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. The only eye visible, her left one, sharpened. "Shut up, _baka risu*." _As the words left her mouth, she whipped the ball towards Shizuka, easily knocking the defender's hand away with the sheer force of the pass._

_The brown-haired girl easily caught it, but even she was knocked back a step by the forceful pass. "Oi, Kurenai! Don't call me that!" _

_Akira didn't even grace the protest with an answer, merely rolling her eyes, as Sora bypassed her defender with her excellent footwork. "Shizuka, pass." _

"_Hai!" Shizuka pivoted and threw the ball past her defender to the blonde captain, who caught it easily with one hand, adjusting her glasses with the other. Her defender seemed slightly wary, and she had good reason to be. In one perfectly-executed move, Sora had spun past her with a calculated feint and a few balanced steps. The captain stopped for a split second, her eyes darting around to the members of her team. _

_Suddenly, without any words, she threw it backwards, high into the air, and everyone gaped in shock, watching the ball slowly begin to fall towards the ground._

"_W-what? What is Sora-buchou doing?"_

_The blonde didn't looked shocked at all, instead, she adjusted her glasses again, turned, and began walking towards the other end of the court. _

_Tezuka frowned at this- what was she thinking? Next to him, Momoshiro asked, "What the hell is she doing?" _

_But his question went unanswered- it didn't need to be. For just as the ball fell towards the ground, something streaked towards it, and Rei appeared out of nowhere, left hand stretching out gracefully and catching the ball. Without stopping, she continued with her momentum, spinning on one foot and without hesitation, let herself fall backwards, while she released the ball. _

_Kikumaru gasped in shock. "No way! She's so far away from the hoop! How's she ever going to get it in?"_

_Rei was well past the three-point line- she was between it and the half-way line. Everyone, both on and off the court, watched in disbelief as the ball arched through the air, its path almost painful in its beauty. It slowly spiralled, as it reached its peak and began to descend. _

_A moment passed in which no one breathed, as it reached the hoop. Everyone was watching the ball avidly, awaiting the painful result. Would it be in? Or had Rei missed?_

_And then the ball fell through the hoop. _

_Another second of silence passed, and then wild applause and cheering came from the spectators. Kikumaru's eyes were double their usual size, as was Momoshiro's, Oishi's and several others. "SUGOI! That was an amazing shot! And from so far away, too! It didn't even touch the hoop!"_

_But when Oishi turned back to the game, his eyes widened even more than he thought was possible. The entire team, save for Rei, who was still jogging over, was already standing on the other side of the court, ready in their defence formation. _

"_W-what? How did they already get over there?" _

_Inui had stopped writing in his book, eyes glued to the match. Without even looking away from the game, he answered. "The answer is clear. They had already run back while Wakanari-san was still making the shot. Because the shot was from so far away, it naturally took quite some time to perform."_

"_But how did they know the shot would be in?"_

_Fuji glanced over, and for once, there was pure admiration in his eyes. _

"_They knew. Because they were absolutely sure that Wakanari wouldn't miss."_

* * *

Sora turned back to the team, calling out in a strict voice, "Alright, break's over! Get back on the court!"

Some of the players groaned with dismay, but no one, not even Akira, dared to disobey their captain, who ruled them with an iron grip. Momoshiro laughed at the sight. "Hey, buchou, that Igarashi-senpai is just as strict as you! I think you'd get along!"

The regulars laughed at his words, and Kikumaru answered eagerly. "No, no! Don't you know, Tezuka likes Wakanari-chan! After all, opposites attract, don't they?"

Everyone snickered at his comment, save for Echizen, who wasn't even listening, Fuji, who just smiled enigmatically, and Tezuka, whose poker face did not even falter in the slightest. Inwardly, he sighed with frustration, and gave up on keeping his team under control.

Really, how had he ended up with the loudest, most irritating team in all of Japan?

Fortunately for him, Shizuka jogged over to them, easily hoisting herself up onto the railing with her hands, and leaning over it. Behind her, Akira strolled casually over, bored expression on her face.

The small forward beamed happily. "Hey, did you guys enjoy our game?"

Oishi answered politely, small smile on his face. "Hai. You play very well."

"Arigato! Actually, that wasn't the best game we've ever played. Sora-buchou will probably make us train extra hard after that game."

The regulars stared at her in disbelief. Not good?

Akira snorted scornfully behind her, causing Shizuka to almost lose her balance, arms flailing in an attempt to hang onto the railing. Luckily, she managed to keep her grip on it, and she turned to Akira, annoyed scowl on her face.

"Oi, punk! Watch it!"

The red-haired second-year looked as though she couldn't care less. "Watch what, Nagasaki? I didn't say anything, it was your fault that you were so clumsy!"

The other second-year looked like she was about to launch herself at Akira and punch her in the face. "What did you say, Kurenai?"

"You would know if you had actually been listening, _baka risu_!"

"Baka…risu?" Momoshiro looked at them confusedly. "Hey Kurenai, why do you call the idiot over there that?"

Both of them ignoring Shizuka's protest, Akira glanced at him briefly. She seemed to size him up, before deciding that any enemy of Shizuka's was cool by her. "Oh, _baka risu_? I call her that because she's an idiot, and acts like a squirrel."

"Oi, how do I act like a squirrel? And I am _not _an idiot!"

"Easy, you won't stay still, but jump around all over the place, and you won't SHUT UP!"

"Says you, punk cherry!"

The entire tennis team watched the second-years fight, eyes wide open in shock and amusement at the situation. Kikumaru slung his arm around Oishi's shoulder, grinning mischievously.

"Nya, don't you think it's like Momo and Kaidoh?"

The two mentioned immediately whipped around, eyes glaring at Kikumaru, who gulped nervously hid behind Oishi. "What was that about us?"

"Nagasaki-san and Kurenai-san," Oishi clarified, patting Kikumaru on the shoulder. "Now that I think about it, they actually do remind me of you."

The two boys glanced briefly at each other, before simultaneously scowling. "I am not anything like Nagasaki!"

Kawamura considered the situation seriously. "Actually…I think they're a little different."

Fuji turned to him, head tilted quizzically. "Oh? How so?"

The muscular third-year looked embarrassed at all of the gazes that were directed towards him. "Ah…I think they actually have respect and affection for each other in a strange way…they just don't show it. Look."

The boys all looked at the two still quarrelling, and they saw what Kawamura meant. Even as they were arguing with incredibly insulting and angry words, a sparkle was in Shizuka's eyes, and a small smile was hovering on Akira's lips.

Even as they were insulting each other bitterly, they both looked happy.

Inui was scribbling everything down at a furious pace, pencil scratching incredibly fast. "Ii, data."

Sora yelled over at the two starting players, "Akira, Shizuka! Get over here right now, or you'll be doing two hundred push-ups!"

The two second-years immediately stopped arguing, and began jogging over.

"Hai, hai. We're coming, Sora-buchou!"

"Che. No need to be so worked up about it."

"What did you say, Akira?"

"…nothing, nothing."

* * *

Rei tilted her head back, and tipped her bottle of water into her mouth, relishing the cool liquid streaming down her dry throat. Next to her, Sora was methodically polishing her glasses.

"Hey, Rei-senpai…"

The green-eyed girl turned around, swinging her dark brown hair over her shoulder. "Yeah? What is it, Akira?"

The second-year fingered the piercing in her cartilage, absent-mindedly turning the small silver hoop. "I was wondering…do you have time to play a one-on-one sometime soon?"

Secretly listening to the conversation, Sora smiled genuinely. Although Akira always acted irritated and indifferent to everything around her, in reality, she held a deep respect for all of her team members.

The respect Akira showed her, as captain, was expected. After all, she was under her command, and the red-haired girl showed a grudging but genuine respect for the third-year who had created the National-level team that they had now.

But the respect she showed Sora was nothing like what she held for Rei. To an outsider, Akira showed absolutely no respect for Rei. She always answered the vice-captain with irritated, snarky remarks, and always found a chance to talk back to her.

But to them, who had been with Akira for so long, the respect Akira held for Rei was incredible. The girl looked up to her upperclassman with admiration, both as a basketball player, and as a vice-captain. When even Sora couldn't manage Akira in one of her moods, Rei could make her do anything with one quiet word. Akira sought out any chance she had to play against Rei, regardless of how many times she lost.

It was a beautiful thing to see.

Meanwhile, Rei answered with an easy smile on her face. "Yeah, sure. I can't do this afternoon or tomorrow, but maybe after practice sometime next week?"

Akira's face lit up subtly, and her normally cold expression softened ever so slightly. "Arigato, Rei-senpai. I'll be looking forward to it."

"And so will I."

With that, the second-year walked back over to her locker, and Rei turned back to hers, glancing sideways at Sora. The latter had turned away as soon as the two had finished speaking, pretending that she had been tying back her hair the whole time.

But Rei wasn't so easily fooled.

She leaned over, and murmured in Sora's ear, "You were listening, weren't you, Sora?"

The blonde captain gave up hiding her eavesdropping. Rei had always had a surprising insight for someone so carefree. "I guess I was," she admitted, putting her hands down, and surveying her ponytail in the mirror. As she looked at her reflection, her eyes darted sideways, and saw how Rei had her head deliberately turned away from the mirror. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

But she continued as though nothing had happened. "Akira has always the most surprising respect for you."

Rei laughed freely. "What do you mean? Akira finds every chance to insult me whenever she can!"

Sora looked closely at her best friend. The two girls had known each other for many years, and no matter how much Rei pretended, she knew when she was only pretending to be as careless as usual.

"Rei."

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?"

The dark-haired girl froze for a mere second, before she turned to face Sora, her face carefully crafted into an expression of indifference. It didn't fool Sora.

"Rei."

At her tone, Rei cringed slightly, and her pretence faltered slightly. But she only hid behind it again. "Sora…I don't want to talk about it." Before the blonde could interrupt, she continued in a voice that even stopped Sora. "Not yet."

Sora paused, and then nodded understandingly. "Just remember…I'm always here if you want to talk."

Rei smiled at her gratefully, and genuinely. "Sora…thanks."

She nodded. "You're welcome." Then, gesturing at the door: "Shall we go, then?"

Swinging her bag over her shoulder, Rei joined Sora outside. Everyone else had already left, so Sora locked the door behind her, carefully pocketing the key. When she had done that, the two girls began walking home slowly, enjoying the golden light from the sun setting and the quiet of the almost empty school.

"Hey, Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we can win Nationals?"

Sora adjusted her glasses carefully as she thought about the question. Rei looked at her, waiting expectantly for her answer.

"I don't think so."

Rei looked crestfallen at her answer, but before she could say anything, Sora continued. "I _know _we will."

At this, the smaller girl smiled brilliantly, and her smile was so beautiful, and full of pure joy, that Sora almost had to turn away from the blinding sight. Almost.

"Sora."

"What?"

"I think- no, I _know _so too."

The silent _thank you _that hovered in the air went unspoken, but both of them heard it, and both of them understood.

"We'll do it together."

Rei glanced over, and smiled a tiny smile at Sora, before reaching over for her hand.

"Together?"

Sora looked down, before taking Rei's hand with a small smile of her own.

"Together."

A moment of calm silence passed, before the taller girl spoke again, with a sarcastic voice. "Who did you think you were going to do it with? Your twin?"

Rei laughed, and the sound echoed hauntingly through the empty grounds of the school, ringing silently through the air.

Their relationship with each other was not one of those cheesy friendships where girls confessed everything to the other, and cried together.

Theirs was one of unspoken words, and silent tears.

Theirs was real, solid, and it held Rei, the dreamer, securely to reality, and it lifted Sora, the down to earth one, into the inspiration of dreaming and wishing.

They were not sisters. They did not know each other's every dark secret.

They were each other's support, and when times went wrong, they were there for each other, and the silent words of comfort that went unspoken between them forged a bond that was unbreakable, and which held both of them up together.

* * *

**A/N: **Finally, another chapter finished! I'm dancing around with joy right now! Rei and Sora's relationship will be _very _important in this story! I know there wasn't that much development between Rei and Tezuka, but I really wanted to establish this friendship, and end the chapter on a poetic note. I promise there will be more romantic development in the next chapter! You might have noticed that I have mentioned high school a few times. That is because I want to set _Shattered Fragments _in high school; I just don't think the characters and their relationships can be developed enough if it was set in middle school. Don't worry though- everything else will stay exactly the same as the manga! Until next time, and in the meantime, please review!

*baka Risu- _idiot_ _squirrel _in Japanese. There's a reason that Akira and Shizuka call each other by weird nicknames, and it will be revealed later. Until then, feel free to take a guess.


	6. Chapter Five: Impulsive

**A/N: **So hi, I'm back again! First of all, thank you to all of the people who have reviewed the new chapter! I really appreciate the wonderful comments you have all posted, and you are all my inspiration to keep writing! I've noticed a few people have asked me what Rei looks like: so here's a description: green eyes, really dark brown hair with dark gold streaks in the sunlight, slender, not very tall for a basketball player (173 cm?) and small hands and feet. I know it's not very good, but it'll have to do for now.

_Shattered Fragments _has passed 1200 hits! It isn't actually that much, but it is to me! Thank you to everyone who has read this story for giving up their time! Because you guys have been so supportive, this chapter is going to have _lots _of romantic development in it. This story has now passed twenty-five thousand words!

This chapter is dedicated to _Neko-fire demon tempest _and _RockPrincess410_, both of whom have reviewed several times and have been so supportive of my story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

Tezuka was walking along the street, just as he did every single day of the week, when the first interruption of the day came. He was heading to the sports equipment store again, this time in order to purchase a new racquet. His former one had had its strings broken, from a practice with Kawamura and his Hadokyuu.

Still, the game made it worth the trouble.

So here he was now, walking into the store, and heading directly over to the racquets. Looking over the array of different racquets, his eye was immediately caught by a white racquet. Reaching over, he ran his fingers around the rim and over the strings, expertly testing the racquet.

It was a good choice. But he wasn't satisfied.

It was strange, but he had a vague feeling in the back of his mind that something was wrong about the racquet. It was good…but it didn't feel like a part of him.

Shrugging it off, he decided to hold onto the racquet and go look at some other equipment before deciding. So he walked off, still looking absently at the racquet he held.

"Excuse me, sir, do you need any help?"

Tezuka looked up to see the manager of the store smiling kindly at him, waiting for an answer. "No, thank you."

The man seemed to have been expecting that answer, because he nodded with a resigned smile and walked over to another customer. Tezuka let his gaze travel from the manager across to the other side of the room, where an unexpected sight jolted him out of his reverie.

Rei was standing over in another section, gazing absentmindedly at something on the display. Tezuka hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Really, he should have left her alone. What she did was none of his business, and the two of them weren't even really friends yet, just classmates.

But there was something about the way she behaved that made him involuntarily begin to lower his guard, the expressionless mask that he hid his weaknesses behind. It bothered him that his façade was crumbling, but- he didn't dislike it, in a way.

Still, he decided, he shouldn't walk over to her. He didn't like to feel vulnerable, and being around Rei made him let his guard down.

But before he could force himself to turn away, he found himself already walking over to her. His legs had moved without him wanting to, and he decided that it was too late to turn back anyway.

After all, there was nothing wrong with greeting a classmate.

Rei had still not noticed him, completely absorbed in whatever she was staring at. He came to a halt when he was a few steps away from her. "Wakanari-san."

She turned around, surprised. When she saw him, her surprised expression morphed into a bright smile. "Oh, Tezuka-san! I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Hn." He didn't know what to say.

Her gaze zeroed in on the racquet he was holding. "Here to buy a new racquet?"

"Aa. My old one is broken." He was surprised that she had noticed- really, she didn't seem like a person who would notice such small details.

"That's unfortunate…is that the one you're going to buy?" She looked faintly displeased as she looked at the racquet, as if something about it annoyed her.

"I'm thinking about it."

"Well, I don't really like it." Tezuka blinked at her bluntness. "It just…doesn't seem like something that suits you."

"…"

Rei seemed to think about something for a minute, before her face brightened, and she skipped over to Tezuka and grasped his wrist, dragging him back over to the racquets.

"What are you doing?"

She spared him a quick glance over her shoulder, but didn't stop walking. "What do you think? We're going to pick out a new racquet for you!"

Before Tezuka could protest, she had tightened her grip on his wrist and broke out into a quick jog. "Come on, let's go!"

As Tezuka strode along behind her, he looked at her fingers wrapped around his wrist, and felt the tension in his shoulders relax ever so slightly.

"Hmm…I think this one would suit you!"

Tezuka barely managed to uncross his arms before a racquet was unceremoniously thrust into his arms. He looked down at it in surprise.

It was surprisingly good.

He turned it around, and tested the string tension with his fingers, while flexing his grip on the handle with his left hand. It was a good racquet.

It was plain black, with strings spray painted silver. This shocked him the most- it suited his taste so well, that he if hadn't known better, he would have thought that he had picked it out himself.

Shaking him out of his thoughts, Rei's face appeared in front of his, questioning look on her face. "So…do you like it?"

"…"

Her face fell, ever so slightly. Just for a second, her mouth lost the lopsided smile that was almost always there. And then it came back. But the small lapse didn't escape Tezuka's notice.

"I mean, it's okay if you don't like it...you don't have to feel like you _have _to buy the racquet because I said so-"

"It's good."

In an instant, with just those two words, her entire face lit up, as though he had given her the most expensive Christmas present in the world. "Really?"

Tezuka nodded, and glanced down at the racquet in his hands again. If it had been a bad choice, he would have said it was good anyway, because if there was one thing Tezuka hated, it was a crying girl. Tears were so much worse than coy giggles and fluttering eyelashes. He couldn't stand being the cause of so much crying.

But this time, he really meant it.

Rei smiled brilliantly, and the genuine joy in her smile was so clear that Tezuka felt the corner of his mouth want to lift upwards.

Her happiness was infectious, and he was feeling the effects.

The girl turned away with her usual I-don't-care-about-anything-except-having-fun attitude. "Okay, then! If that's all, just wait for me to get something and then we'll pay together!"

Without waiting for an answer, she had run off in another direction. For a moment, before he set off after her, Tezuka ran his fingers lightly over the strings again.

Nobody was around to see it. But if they had, they would have seen the ghost of a smile appear on his face, as faint and fleeting as the wind.

* * *

As the two walked out of the store, many girls they walked past were glaring at Rei enviously, and casting flirtatious glances at Tezuka.

All of them were blissfully ignored by Rei, and stoically by Tezuka.

Tezuka was listening to Rei chatter on about the new gloves she had bought from the store, actually interested for once.

"I mean, look at the quality! The gloves at this store are the best- they're comfortable and they look amazing!"

Really, Tezuka didn't particularly like gloves in general, because they restricted his hands too much, but he found himself nodding in agreement. Every time, Rei managed to slip past his guard and disarm him in some way.

A question suddenly came into his mind as he watched the girl try on the fingerless gloves.

"Wakanari-san?"

"Mm?" She wasn't looking at him, instead flexing her fingers and admiring the look of the black gloves.

"Why do you like those gloves?"

_Why do you wear them _was the unspoken question that was asked, and Rei seemed to hear the silent words. Her lopsided smile appeared again, the one that Tezuka thought seemed the most genuine.

"Ah, I wear them to keep my hands warm!"

At her incredibly obvious answer, Tezuka inwardly huffed an exasperated sigh. Rei laughed brightly, and amusedly punched him lightly on the shoulder. With a faint sense of surprise, Tezuka realised that it was really the first contact he had had with a female other than his mother.

Of course, besides the accidental collision with Rei two days back.

"I'm just kidding. Actually, I wear them to protect my hands. You know, otherwise I wouldn't be able to handle the ball."

On the surface, she sounded as carefree as usual. But Tezuka heard the undercurrent of genuine determination and utter dedication to the sport that dominated her world.

He respected that.

"I wouldn't be able to bear being able to not play basketball. I started playing back in middle school, because Sora dragged me into it with her."

His eyebrows rose slightly at this. To start any sport so late was usually a sure sign that one would never be able to excel at the sport. He himself had started tennis when he was only four, and he couldn't remember ever not being able to play.

"At first, it was just for fun. Because it was Sora's passion, not mine."

Rei stopped walking for a second, and Tezuka came to a halt beside her. She was staring at the ground, with a small, wistful smile on her face.

"But somehow…I grew to love basketball. It became my world, my life. To not be able to play- I can't even imagine what it would be like."

That was something he understood.

"Aa."

To anyone else, he would have sounded dismissive. But Rei heard the understanding conveyed in that single syllable, and her smile widened a fraction.

A long minute passed, in which the two high schoolers walked silently along the street, side by side.

Then, "Besides, the gloves look good, don't you think?"

"…Hn."

* * *

Rei's mouth was half-open, and her eyes wide with shock.

Seigaku had just won the district tennis tournament against Fudomine. It wasn't an easy match. But it was awe-striking.

Tezuka hadn't actually gotten to play, as the team had won by Singles Two. Still, she couldn't even imagine how good he was if the team so far was already _this _good.

"Hoi hoi! Look, it's Wakanari-chan!"

She looked around, and saw Kikumaru running towards her, waving and jumping around excitedly. She laughed and waved back.

"Eiji!" She didn't know how, but the red-haired boy had somehow convinced her to address him by his first name, and she didn't really mind, seeing as a lot of others did as well.

He reached her and jumped onto her, hugging her enthusiastically. "Did you see our games? Aren't we good?"

"Yeah, you guys were awesome!"

The rest of the regulars had caught up by now, and Rei managed to loosen Kikumaru's grip enough to look up and see Tezuka looking at her with his normal serious expression.

"Ah, Tezuka-san! That was a great match! I mean, you didn't play or anything, but still!"

She laughed nervously at her own awkwardness, and ran her hand through her loose hair. He nodded, before Fuji appeared in her vision, smiling his closed-eye, angelic smile again.

"Wakanari-san, I believe your team has a game tomorrow after school?"

The other regulars, hearing Fuji's words, instantly crowded around, jostling her.

"Really?"

"Nya, we can come and watch you! I'm sure you guys are awesome!"

"Yeah, you guys are in the district finals as well, aren't you?"

Rei looked a little bewildered by all of the questions being fired at her, and looked helplessly at Tezuka. The tall boy was standing a little to the side, with his arms crossed and his usual expressionless face. At her glance, he stepped into the chaos of the tennis regulars.

"Silence!"

It worked like a charm. The tennis regulars immediately fell quiet, and all eyes were glued to Rei. She laughed awkwardly, fiddling with her gloves. "Ah, yes, we're playing tomorrow against…Iwaki High? You can all come and watch if you want!"

Kikumaru burst out into a cheer, and Momoshiro joined in, fist bumping with him. "Yeah, Tezuka-buchou, can we have the afternoon after practice to watch?"

"…_yudan sezu ni ikou_."

"Tezukaaa! How does that even make sense now?!"

The captain ignored the whines of protest. "The tournament is still waiting. Our opponents will only grow stronger."

His reprimand was overridden by complaints. "But Tezuka, can't you just loosen up for one day? We're the district champions! Relax for once in your life!"

"…"

The tennis regulars all stared at him, silently pleading with him to say yes. Fuji suddenly smiled sadistically, before leaning over to Rei, and whispering something in her ear. She suddenly jumped back with a shriek, pointing at Fuji with a shaking finger.

"W-WHAT? When- how?"

Inui was there immediately, notebook in hand, his free hand pushing up his glasses. "What was that?"

Fuji just smiled innocently, eyes flashing over to Tezuka, before looking back at Rei. "Nothing. Just something to encourage Wakanari…"

He opened his eyes slightly, and looked at Rei. She backed away in fear, staring at him. The other regulars watched them in shock and curiosity. Fuji motioned towards Tezuka with his head, smile growing.

Rei immediately rushed over to Tezuka, completely bending over in a bow. "Please please please let them come to watch our match! I'm begging you on my knees!"

"But…you're not on your knees…" Momoshiro pointed out weirdly.

She immediately fell onto her knees, still pleading with Tezuka, who looked faintly surprised. "Please? I'll do anything for you, just let them come!"

"…" The regulars all stared at Rei, then simultaneously, their heads turned towards Fuji, who just kept on smiling.

"What did you say to her to make her beg like this, Fuji?"

"Fujiko, you're so mean…"

"Saa…" he looked back angelically through closed eyelids. "I merely gave her a suggestion…something that might make an _excellent _addition to the next issue of the school magazine…"

Rei was still in front of Tezuka. "Please, Tezuka-san, Fuji-san will ruin my life if you don't agree!"

The captain was startled enough that the words slipped out before he could think about it. "Alright."

She immediately fell back, sighing heavily in relief. "That was a close one…"

"Fsssh…" went Kaidoh, eyes flickering in curiosity to Fuji, as did everyone else's. "Fuji, what did you say to her?"

"Hmm…now that Tezuka has agreed…" The tensai grinned mischievously, and everyone felt cold sweat running down their necks. "I only told Wakanari that a certain…_suggestive_ photograph _might _be published if she didn't beg Tezuka to let us go. Nothing important."

Everyone backed away from him nervously. "That's blackmail, Fuji-senpai…"

"Is it? I merely made a suggestion…"

Tezuka felt like he was about to explode. Fuji was really testing his limits these days. "Fuji, if you don't hand over _every _copy of that photograph like I ordered you to before, you'll be running a hundred laps."

The tensai tilted his head curiously. "Maybe that's worth the reward…"

"Around _Japan_."

Fuji chuckled, before reaching into his pocket. "Saa…I guess I can't keep anything from Tezuka. He even knew which photograph I was talking about." He pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Tezuka.

Kikumaru and Momoshiro lunged for it, hands reaching for the envelope before Tezuka managed to pull it out of their way with his quick reflexes. He quickly slipped it into his pocket, safe from the others.

"Kikumaru, Momoshiro, fifty laps tomorrow. Fuji, if you don't delete the negative of the image on your computer and camera, you'll still be running the laps."

The two regulars groaned in dismay, and Fuji just laughed. "Hai, hai, I'll delete them…" His eyes opened. "But I'm curious. What are you going to do with those pictures I gave you?"

Silence.

"HAHAHA! TEZUKA HAS A CRUSH!"

Heads turned as everyone around them stared at them curiously.

Rei immediately blanched, and then flushed. She immediately jumped on Kikumaru, who had been the one who had burst out.

"Eiji! What are you saying, you idiot!" She roughly messed up his hair, which made him cry out in indignation.

"Hey, Wakanari-chan, not the hair! Anything you want, but not the hair!"

"Do you think I care?!"

"You should!"

Out of nowhere, Rei suddenly stiffened, and Kikumaru took the chance to slip away from her grasp, trying to fix his hair. He was about to complain, but then he caught sight of her face.

A look of pain was fixated on nothing, and she stared at a spot in empty air, face contorted strangely.

"Wakanari-chan? Daijoubu?"

* * *

Sora looked seriously at Rei, arms crossed, with her right hand repositioning her glasses on her nose. Her friend was completely ignoring her, but was leaning over the sink, hair loose and tumbling around her face, completely hunched over.

"Rei…"

The girl didn't say anything, but just let out a hacking, hoarse cough, and convulsively grasped at the edge of the sink.

All that time, she refused to even look up at the mirror on the wall above her head.

"I'm fine."

"…Rei."

Just as Sora tried approaching her calmly and soothingly, Rei screamed out in a ragged, raw voice, a harsh sob rising in her throat.

"I told you, _I'm fine!_"

Sora knew when Rei had reached her limit, and this was one of those moments. She backed off a few steps, trying her hardest not to be hurt. She knew that Rei didn't mean it, but when she was like this, there was no reasoning with her.

"When you feel better, come and find me, okay?"

Rei didn't respond, but her head jerked slightly, and Sora took that as an affirmative.

In this state, that was the best answer that she could hope to get from Rei.

She walked out of the bathroom, and shut the door softly. As she left, she heard a stifled choke. It went almost unheard.

But to her, it sounded like a scream of agony.

Back inside the girls' bathroom, Rei stared blankly down, eyes unfocused.

_Why? Why does this have to happen now? _

The sound of harsh choking and coughing could be heard.

* * *

Tezuka had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Class had been going as usual, and their teacher had handed back a maths test that they had done a few weeks previously. He had gotten a ninety-seven, and the result satisfied him at least.

But that wasn't what had confused him.

Rei had walked past him to collect a test, and as she came back, he saw that she had received an eighty.

But still, that wasn't as surprising as the expression on her face.

It was completely blank, and she stared absently at the paper, eyes not even really focused on the test itself. She had almost walked into someone else's desk, and only murmured a vague apology, not even looking up from the paper.

The carefree, bright expression that was normally on her face was completely gone.

He thought back to the incident after their match. She had seemed slightly upset, but it hadn't occurred as serious to him at the time.

It couldn't be that.

Whatever it was had triggered a completely different change in Rei. She walked around with no purpose, not looking at anyone or anything. Once, she had even walked right into the teacher, and had made her drop everything that was in her arms.

Tezuka had fully expected Tanaka-sensei to go into one of her famous rants again. But when Rei had hastily apologized and bent over to pick up one of the books, only to let it slip through her fingers again, the teacher kindly smiled and helped her pick them up. She had gone on to reassure Rei that it was alright, and had murmured something in her ear, before patting her shoulder and walking back to her desk.

Everything was completely different that day.

When Rei bumped into his table in the front row on her way to the front for the fifth time that day, Tezuka gave up.

When he helped her to pick up her books again, he touched her wrist briefly, and when she glanced up absently, he hesitated.

After all, it was really none of his business. But he decided to ask anyway.

"Wakanari-san, are you all right?"

She was looking blankly at him, and her eyes were focused on a point slightly to the side of him. When he shifted a little, she shook her head, and glanced sideways at him.

"I'm sorry, Tezuka-san, what did you say? I wasn't listening."

Normally, he would have disapproved of such lack of attention and respect, but seeing as she seemed to be going through a hard day, he let it go for once.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded vaguely, as she stood up, brushing off her skirt. "Yes, I'm fine…arigato for helping me pick up my books, Tezuka-san."

He handed the stack of books to her, and she took them into her arms, before almost dropping them all again. Tezuka's incredible reflexes saved the day, as he reached out just in time to catch the falling books. Rei looked a little flushed, as she took the books carefully from again, apologizing. He nodded in acknowledgement, not knowing what else to do. Just before she turned away again, he asked softly, "Are you…really alright?"

She gave him a strange look, and Tezuka began to feel uncomfortable. Really, he didn't know how to express concern for anyone. After all, he had never done it before.

But before he could apologize stiffly, he was surprised into silence by a small, but genuine smile appearing on Rei's face. True, it wasn't her usual happy smile, but it was a start.

"Yeah, I'm really fine. Thanks, Tezuka-san."

And then she turned away.

As he sat back down, he felt an unfamiliar pulling at his mouth, as the corner threatened to tilt upwards.

He didn't know what the feeling was.

But he didn't dislike it.

* * *

The stadium was loud, too loud for Tezuka. He didn't like noise, and to him, his team was already loud enough.

But this? This was completely off the scales.

Hundreds of people were filing into their seats, chattering noisily with one another as they prepared to watch the upcoming match. The Seigaku tennis regulars were already seated in the front row of the school's section, given the privilege because of their status as new champions and because of Sora's surprising willingness to arrange their seating.

But even though the noise was incredibly offsetting, Tezuka couldn't help but feel a little anticipation for the approaching game.

After all, he had already witnessed the skill of the girls' varsity basketball team first hand; he couldn't help but admit that he was looking forward to seeing them play seriously.

The other regulars seemed to share the sentiment- all of them were talking excitedly, as they waited for the match to begin.

Suddenly, a voice crackled over the loudspeaker, rapidly bringing an anticipatory lull of silence over the crowd.

"_Attention! The high school division girls' basketball match between Iwaki Gakuen and Seishun Gakuen will now commence!_"

Cheering and whistling met this announcement, and Momoshiro sat up eagerly, leaning forward and craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the team's entrance. Kikumaru bounced up and down on his seat, full of energy. Fuji had his trademark smile on, but even he looked uncharacteristically eager for the match to start.

"Hey, Inui-senpai, what's the other school's team like? Do you know?"

Kikumaru laughed at Momoshiro's question. "Don't you know Inui? He's a professional stalker, of course he does!"

Inui adjusted his glasses and pulled out his ever ready notebook. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that last statement. As for Iwaki Gakuen, they are a reasonably high-level team that has consistently made the finals of the district tournament every year. They are led by the well-known player Fujiwara Michiko, who may be on par with our team's players."

"Sugoi, she must be good, then!"

"She is. Fujiwara-san made the reserves of the National team last year, in her second year of high school. But basketball is a team sport, and the rest of the Iwaki team is far below her standards."

Kawamura looked confused. "Does that mean they aren't good?"

Inui's glasses flashed ominously as the scratching of his pencil paused for a long, meaningful moment. "On the contrary. In fact, Iwaki is known for their violent play and deceptive moves."

Tezuka's eyes narrowed slightly, and he glanced over at the Iwaki section of the stands on the other side of the court.

_Be careful._

* * *

Akira was not in a good mood.

She was never in a good mood, but she was particularly annoyed today. Standing there in the passageway that opened out into the stadium, she had the sudden urge to grab something and throw it.

Rei had been unusually quiet and down all day, and she was crouched against the wall, staring at the ground. Sora was leaning against the wall next to her, arms crossed and a disgruntled expression on her face.

Akira looked away from the captain and vice-captain. Something was going on between them again, and she knew better than to interfere.

Shizuka was jogging lightly on the spot, stretching out her legs. Yuki was standing behind her, watching her askance. The red-haired girl snorted, and caught the attention of the smallest girl.

"Oi, what are you looking at, punk cherry?"

Akira felt the corner of her mouth tilt in a smirk as she scoffed, shoving her hands into the pockets of her black varsity jacket and looking away.

"What are you talking about, _baka risu._ Stop bouncing around like that, it's annoying."

"Shut up! You should be warming up like me, instead of being so stiff and boring like now!"

Akira wanted to retort, but then caught the eye of an Iwaki player standing on the other side of the passageway, sneering at her. She narrowed her eyes, and her mouth twisted into a frightening grimace. The other girl flinched and immediately looked away.

Shizuka had noticed what she was looking at. She was also glaring at the other team, while moving closer to Akira. She muttered, "We're going to have to thrash them today. Sora-buchou said that they play dirty."

Akira smirked darkly. "Well, they'll just have to learn that whatever they do won't make a difference against us."

"But what about their captain, Fujiwara? Rei-senpai said that she was a National-level player, just like buchou and her."

"So what? She's just one player. It's not like the others are just as good- even if they were, we would _still _kick their asses."

Shizuka broke out into a quiet laugh, and punched Akira lightly on the shoulder. The tall girl understood that it was a friendly gesture, which was surprising coming from Nagasaki Shizuka.

"Showing off as usual, are you? Better live up to that oversized ego of yours on the court, Kurenai."

Akira smiled dangerously, glancing at Shizuka. "Oh trust me, I will."

This was a rare conversation between the two second-years, one in which they didn't fight, but it was to be expected, seeing as the atmosphere was tense and silent.

Shizuka glanced at Akira's hair. "Hey, you changed your streaks again?"

Akira lifted a hand and fingered a strand of hair absentmindedly. Yesterday, she had redyed her streaks a deep jet black. She figured that it was about time, and she might as well do it for the match.

"Che, felt like it."

Shizuka scoffed disbelievingly. "Oh yeah, there's a lot of things you felt like doing. Dyeing your hair like a thousand times, getting what? Fifty piercings? And tattoos as well? What are you, an emo kid on the streets?"

Akira glanced down at the ground, hand shifting to feel the three piercings on her right ear. She could feel the weight of the hair that was covering the left side of her face, shielding it from view.

"Deal with it. Everyone has their own ways of coping. You're not one to talk."

Shizuka laughed half-heartedly. "Yeah, I guess. It's been a while since we've talked like this. And we've known each for what? Ten years?"

The corner of Akira's mouth lifted into a real smile. "Count yourself lucky, _baka risu_."

Shizuka smiled, before turning to face the entrance. "Ha, you wish, punk cherry. You're the lucky one."

As they heard the preliminary crackling of the loudspeaker and the cheering of the crowd, Shizuka nudged Akira with her shoulder. "Hey, I've got your back. You know that, right?"

Akira didn't turn from the entrance, but her smile widened slightly. "Shut up. I've got my own back and yours."

"_Attention! The high school division girls' basketball match between Iwaki Gakuen and Seishun Gakuen will now commence!_"

Cheering echoed down the passageway, and as Akira straightened her shoulders, Sora stood up. "Alright, it's time to do what we do, team!"

"Hai, buchou!"

* * *

Rei was shaking.

Not with nervousness. She was long over that. Not with excitement, either. That had been something she had gotten used to a long time ago.

No, it was something else.

She could feel the adrenaline beginning to run through her body, as she shivered involuntarily, huddling closer in her varsity jacket.

Out of nowhere, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she half turned to see Sora touching her shoulder lightly, an uncharacteristic and small smile on her face.

"Come on. We've got a game to play. Pull yourself together."

Rei nodded, but in her mind, she wasn't so sure. But Sora seemed to be convinced, and she patted Rei reassuringly on the back.

"_From Iwaki Gakuen we have…_" The voice on the loudspeaker began to call out the players one by one, as they walked out into the stadium to thunderous applause.

"_And captain, Fujiwara Michiko!_"

Rei observed the tall, black-haired girl as she walked out into the stadium, with loud cheering from the crowds. Although they had never played each other personally, there was no doubt she was an incredible player.

"_And from Seishun Gakuen, we have Nagasaki Shizuka!_"

"That's me, gotta go," Shizuka said breezily, as she walked out first, to applause from the Seigaku supporters.

"_Hasegawa Yuki!_" The tall center patted Rei kindly on the shoulder as she passed, smile on her face. Rei immediately relaxed, reacting to Yuki's calming presence. "Don't worry, fukubuchou, we've got this."

"_Kurenai Akira!_" The red-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Che, what's with all the fuss."

Rei was standing on her toes now, listening for the name she knew would come next. And so it did.

"_Vice-captain, Wakanari Reika!_" She shuddered at the sound of her full name, and vaguely thought to make a note to change her official name at some point. Taking a deep breath, she walked out, taking one last glance at Sora alone in the passageway before she walked out into the blinding lights.

For a moment, she was completely blinded, bewildered by the deafening applause and dazzling lights. And then everything fell into place.

She remembered this feeling. The feeling of walking onto a court, knowing that she was about to play a match in which no one knew what would happen. The feeling of being cheered on by hundreds of spectators as adrenaline rushed through her veins.

Yes, she remembered this feeling. Rei's mouth curved into her signature lopsided smile. She raised a nonchalant hand in acknowledgement to the crowd, which only served to spur them on even more.

"_Wakanari! Wakanari! Show them who you are!_"

Yes, she definitely remembered this. And she liked it.

She could hear the loudspeaker announcing, "_And captain, Igarashi Sora!_"

At Sora's name, the crowds went wild, chanting "_Seigaku will win today! The victor will be Seigaku!_"

Rei reached the centre of the court and took her place next to Akira, watching as Sora proceeded towards them, to begin the team line up.

The two teams bowed to each other, and recited the expected words, before shaking each other's hands. Rei released the Iwaki vice-captain's hand as soon as she could without appearing rude, shuddering inwardly at the cold feeling. The girl glared at her, animosity radiating from her.

She leaned closer to Rei and hissed, "We'll _thrash _you Seigaku losers! As if you could be a National-level player!"

Rei smiled half-bitterly, and half-amusedly. So many people had said that to her, it had become almost expected. "Let's see on the court, then."

The other girl scoffed, and turned away. Rei headed back to their bench, taking a seat between Akira and Sora. Yuki was still standing up, stretching out her tall frame, and Shizuka was stretching on the floor beside her, forming a circle of their team.

Sora got right down to business as usual. "Right, Iwaki High may not be a National-level team, but their captain, Fujiwara, is definitely of that calibre. We aren't going to take any chances today. We're going to play seriously, got that?"

She looked around at each of the players, who all nodded obediently. "Good. Keep in mind that this team has a reputation for violent play and a lot of dirty tricks. Don't let it affect our play, just _trash _them, you hear me?"

"Hai, buchou!"

"We're going to start off with full-court man-to-man defence. Let's go!"

The whistle blew for the start of the match, and the Seigaku varsity players strode onto court, amidst wild cheering and applause.

* * *

"Seigaku is not to be underestimated," Fujiwara Michiko was saying to her team as she crouched in front of the bench. "They are a strong National-level team, especially led by the double team of Igarashi and Wakanari."

"Please, those two?" a player scoffed derisively. "They're so short, that they probably can't even reach the basket! There's only two tall players on their team! How can they be a National-level team?"

Michiko stared at her flatly. "You don't know anything."

Under her scrutinizing gaze, the player flinched and subsided reluctantly. The captain continued talking. "Stick with the plan, and we'll defeat them. Remember, the victory is what is important, not the path to it."

One of the girls stood up and headed onto the court, snickering as she went. "Don't worry, Fujiwara-buchou. We've got this all covered."

Yuki was already standing in the centre, ready to do jump ball. The center of the Iwaki team strutted up to her with a derisive sneer on her face. "Already pulling out the big guns, huh? What losers."

Shizuka glared at her, but Yuki didn't show any reaction whatsoever on her placid, calm face. "Shall we begin?"

Her opponent huffed angrily, before bending her knees, prepared to leap for the ball. "I'll show you what a real National-level team is like!"

"Do what you like."

Meanwhile, Sora shook hands stiffly again with Michiko, whose face was completely free of the arrogance in the rest of her team. "Let's have a good game, Igarashi."

"Same to you, Fujiwara. May the best team win."

Michiko's flat expression wavered, and a small smirk broke through. "Yes, the _best _will triumph here today."

Sora didn't react with anger, but merely turned, and stood next to the Iwaki point guard.

The referee blew the whistle again, and then carefully balanced the ball on his hand, between the two center players.

"On three!"

The whistle blew, and the players on court who had been previously still and frozen immediately sprang into action as the two centers leapt high into the air, both reaching out for the ball.

* * *

**A/N: ***drum roll* the match continues in the next chapter! If you have any suggestions for anything you want to see in this match or future ones, feel free to message me or better, put it in a review. Thank you to anyone who's reading this, because you have taken the time to read my new chapter! I told you all that I would develop Tezuka and Rei's relationship in this chapter, and here it is! Enjoy, and please review!


	7. Chapter Six: Discord

**A/N:** Here's Chapter Six! I'm very sorry for the very late update, but I've been working on the development of a new idea for a story- of course it's for Prince of Tennis! If you have any ideas for a new story, please feel free to tell me. The game will be decided in this chapter! Thank you to all of the lovely people who have reviewed my story so far, and I really appreciate the time you've all taken. _Shattered Fragments _has reached thirty two thousand words!

This chapter is dedicated to _Psychedelic Moonlight, _who is one of my best friends and is leaving me for America in August! *cries* :( This is your farewell gift!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

For a moment, everyone was waiting for the two centers to knock the ball into play. Both of them were very tall- it would be a close call.

Yuki's hand made contact with the ball, just a split second before the other player's hand connected on the other side. Both struggled silently, and the ball balanced precariously, tilting dangerously in different directions.

As she grappled with the ball, Yuki's eyes darted aside and met Sora's over her opponent's shoulder. The blonde captain gave her a meaningful look, before adjusting her glasses and slipping away from her defender, who was preoccupied with watching the ball.

Yuki gritted her teeth and pushed with all her might. Her captain expected her to be able to win, and she was Hasegawa Yuki. She would _not _break a promise to her captain.

A yell left her mouth as she finally wrenched the ball away from her opponent and whipped it towards Sora, who was already in position to catch it. The Iwaki center fell backwards, winded by the force behind the pass.

She hit the ground, and gaped as Yuki landed heavily next to her. The Seigaku center barely gave her a glance before running after the rest of her team.

"Don't underestimate me," were her only words as she left the girl stuttering behind her on the floor.

Sora had already made it to the three-point line, carefully defending the ball from her opponent as her eyes flickered around the court, searching for a gap in the defence.

Suddenly, she broke out into a series of calculated, precise steps, as she pivoted and feinted her way past her defender, who was left stumbling in her wake.

Oishi gaped at the scene, absolutely stunned. "Sugoi…Igarashi-san is amazing."

Inui nodded in agreement, scribbling continually in his notebook. "She has incredible precision and observation skills. She reads her opponent's movements before making her own."

The regulars watched Sora pass to Akira, who had bypassed her defender, and she performed a feint almost too fast for the eye to see, before leaping high into the air and slamming the ball into the basket. She hung onto the rim of the hoop for a moment longer, before letting go and landing heavily on the ground.

A heavy silence pervaded the stadium. All eyes were glued to the hoop, which was still quivering from the sheer force of the dunk,

Someone started to slowly clap their hands, the sound echoing through the silent stadium. Another joined in, and soon, the entire crowd was on their feet, cheering wildly and applauding.

"Seigaku is amazing!"

"Yeah, that second-year is almost like a pro! They're obvious candidates for the National title this year!"

Momoshiro's jaw had dropped, and he looked as though he dislocated it. Next to him, Kaidoh looked easily just as stunned, although he was a little more conservative in his shock.

"…is Kurenai even a girl?"

"Yeah, I can't believe she's only a second-year like us…"

Inui's writing had paused as Akira had made her shot, but he resumed his scribbling with doubled vigour. "Interesting…good data."

Akira looked slightly satisfied, but then she turned away with a frown. "Che, that could have gone better."

Shizuka ran past her, jogging backwards and childishly stuck out her tongue at Akira. "Stop showing off, punk cherry!"

"…shut up and mind your own business, _baka risu_."

Sora adjusted her glasses again as she easily jogged towards the half-way line, glancing disapprovingly at the two second-years. "Akira, Shizuka, pay attention to the match. Iwaki is not going to make this easy for us."

The two nodded at their captain, before turning to wait for the approaching Iwaki players, who had the ball in their possession. Rei tensed as she watched Fujiwara Michiko easily catch a pass from her teammate, and halt just outside of the three-point line, bouncing the ball slowly and methodically.

Rei thought back to the words of advice Sora had given her in the locker room before the match.

* * *

"_Rei." Sora came up behind her best friend, eyes grim and focused, no trace of amusement in her eyes. _

"_Sora." Rei didn't even have to look around to know who it was- no one else had that serious, strict tone curiously mixed with exasperation and humour. _

_The blonde captain sat down on the bench beside her vice-captain, huffing as she stretched out her legs in front of her. She glanced sideways, mouth tightening. _

"_You have to be careful of Fujiwara."_

_Rei glanced at her, surprised. "Fujiwara? You mean Fujiwara Michiko, the Iwaki captain?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I know she's really good, but why the special warning?"_

_Sora adjusted her glasses, eyes never leaving Rei's face. "You don't know?"_

_At Rei's genuine look of confusion, she continued. "Fujiwara is one of the best defenders in Japan. Combined with her team's sneaky tendencies, she is a formidable opponent."_

"…_and?"_

"…_she's a shooting guard."_

_Rei's face immediately went blank, and she looked back at the ground, staring at her shoes. _

"…_I didn't know that."_

_Sora watched her carefully. Over the last couple of days, Rei had been acting very strangely. It wasn't like her to be still so down after whatever had happened on Thursday. _

"_What are you going to do about her? She will most likely be defending you."_

_The dark haired girl's expression did not change in the slightest, but Sora's calculating gaze easily caught the tenseness in her posture. _

"_I'll deal with it when it comes." _

"_You sure?"_

"…_yeah. Because…"_

* * *

"…because I cannot lose." Rei's words were so quietly murmured that even Sora, from whom nothing ever escaped, wasn't sure if she had really heard them or not.

The Seigaku vice-captain quickly approached Michiko, who did not looked disconcerted at all. Rather, she seemed pleased that Rei had confronted her. A small, not quite arrogant smirk appeared on her blank face.

"Wakanari, we finally meet."

Rei stared at the Iwaki captain, and felt that everything had slowed down around them. All she saw was the conniving, mocking eyes and the tilted, derisive smile.

She had never met Michiko before, and now she was glad she never had.

Suddenly, the Iwaki shooting guard lurched to one side, and Rei instinctively responded by shifting to the left. But as soon as she began moving, she saw Michiko's eyes flicker deliberately to the right, and begin to move. _Damn! She's feinting!_

Rei skidded to the right, only to find Michiko heading for the left again. _She's trying to get past me. _

She gritted her teeth, and darted back in front of the Iwaki captain again, blocking her path. Michiko's eyes narrowed, and she glanced past Rei's shoulders.

In the stands, the Seigaku tennis regulars were watching with awe. Fuji wasn't smiling- he had his eyes open and watching the game intently. "Wakanari has a very good sense of balance, don't you think?"

Oishi nodded in agreement, eyes glued to the match. "Yeah, and she's very fast as well. She'd make for a great tennis player, if she played."

Tezuka's eyes never left the court, watching every movement from behind his glasses. He couldn't deny that he was impressed.

Back on the court, Michiko had drawn back past the three-point line again, and Rei was guarding her, knees bent and ready at the sign of any movement whatsoever.

Behind her, the other players attempted to out-manoeuvre each other, and either receive or intercept any pass that Michiko made.

But the Iwaki captain didn't seem fazed by her inability to pass Rei- rather, a small smile came onto her face as she glanced deliberately at someone over Rei's shoulder and nodded.

A split second before, Sora realized what was about to happen. The player defending her had suddenly begun running towards the two shooting guards, and the ones guarding Akira and Shizuka had abandoned their defence, positioning themselves around the vicinity of the ball.

Her eyes widened, and she took a step forward, hand rising in a gesture of warning that she already knew was useless. All she could do was call out and watch helplessly.

"Rei! Watch out!"

Rei didn't know what was happening. One minute ago, she had been completely focused on Michiko's every movement- out of nowhere, she had felt a strange jolt at the back of her left knee, and she found herself falling forward.

That was only the beginning of it. As she fell, she involuntarily held her hands out to break her fall, and her eyes made contact with Michiko's.

She did not like the look that had come into the other girl's face.

But she couldn't stop herself, and all she could do was try helplessly to twist her body away from the impact she knew was about to come.

Michiko had suddenly moved, running straight into Rei, driving her even harder into the pressure in the back of her knee.

Rei cried out silently as she felt a sharp, stabbing pain, and she found herself collapsing onto the court.

Akira and Sora, the two closest teammates to her, started forwards, the captain running over to help Rei up. Meanwhile, Akira had whipped her head towards Michiko, who had a look of innocent concern on her face, asking Rei, "Are you alright? I apologize, I didn't make you fall over, did I?"

Akira stormed over, reaching to grab the Iwaki captain by her collar. "Save it, liar! We all saw you run into her-"

Michiko shrugged her shoulders innocently, turning to the referee that had jogged over. "I didn't run into her. I think she just tripped when she was trying to run backwards. What did you think?"

By now, all of the players had reached the scene, and the Seigaku players, save for Sora and Rei, turned to the referee angrily. "Hey, that was clearly a foul!"

The man held his hands up in a gesture of apology. "Gomen, but there was no visible violation of the rules."

"What? How could you not see that?"

"Are you BLIND?"

Angry mutterings and whisperings were circulating like wildfire around the stadium. Half of the Seigaku regulars had risen from their seats, either from concern for Rei or anger at the Iwaki team. Momoshiro cracked his knuckles threateningly, glaring at Michiko.

"The bastards! That was so obviously a violation!"

"Nya, that's so mean of them!"

With all of the strength he could muster, Tezuka restrained the urge to stand up like the others and see the scene more clearly. However, he leaned forward, eyes a fraction wider than usual in concern.

Kikumaru turned to Inui for an explanation. "Hey, Inui, how come the referees didn't see that? It was obvious to everyone else!"

The data specialist sighed and out of habit, pushed up his glasses again. "It seems that the Iwaki players had pre-planned their move ahead, so that at the moment the foul was committed, the other players on the team would block both referee's line of vision."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Iwaki Gakuen is obviously very practised in their skill at concealing foul play."

Tezuka just kept his eyes fixed on the dark hair on the court, silently willing her to be alright.

* * *

The blow had really hurt.

Rei gritted her teeth in pain as she felt her knee shift against the cold, hard surface of the court. Someone was probing the injury with their finger, trying to move it around.

"Rei! Rei, can you hear me?"

The voice belonged to Sora. Rei had heard that voice so many times, that she would have recognized it in a crowd of millions.

Other voices came in and out of focus in the background, both familiar and foreign, drifting in and out of her hearing.

"…she may not be fit to play…"

"…injury may end her season…"

Rei's mind screamed in alarm at the voices that suddenly seemed to be so forbidding. Summoning all of the strength she could muster, she forced her heavy eyelids to slowly, painfully open. Blinding light filled her vision, and for a moment, all she could see was a dazzling, searing white.

Ever so slowly, the brilliant light faded, and silhouetted against the lights, her eyes focused on a face she knew all too well.

Sora.

The blonde girl was saying something to a person who was standing nearby, and Rei couldn't hear what she was saying. All she knew was that Sora was there, and everything would be alright.

"…she's going to be fine?"

Rei blinked, and suddenly, strangely, everything seemed to shift into focus. Out of nowhere, the dull, ringing murmur had suddenly become a deafening array of frantic, worried voices, and she could feel the floor of the gym vibrating with footsteps.

"Sora?"

Her friend looked down in surprise, and Rei could clearly see the relief reflected in her face. "Rei! You're awake!" All the dark haired girl could do was smile briefly in response.

Sora quickly helped Rei to slowly sit up, supporting her shoulders and careful not to move her left leg more than was necessary.

"What happened?"

Another face hovered into view- it was another familiar face. Red hair with black streaks, a single golden eye staring at her…

"Rei-senpai? Are you alright?"

It was Akira. Rei, despite the dull ache in the back of her leg, managed to smile at the sight of her underclassman actually showing concern. Really, it was very touching.

"I'm fine, Akira." At both of her teammates disbelieving and exasperated looks, Rei huffed indignantly. "Really, it is! I can still play!"

Grasping onto Sora's proffered arm, she slowly pulled herself up, flinching as her foot made contact with the court. But still, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.

"Ah, number seven. Are you still able to play, or do you need to be subbed off?" One of the referees had jogged over to them.

Sora, surprisingly, only gave Rei a measured, warning look before turning to the man. "Yes, our player can continue. Sorry for the inconvenience."

As the referee jogged off to recommence the game, Sora murmured in Rei's ear, "If you _dare _to push yourself more than is absolutely necessary…" Her voice trailed off threateningly, the rest of her sentence clear.

Rei nodded. "Don't worry about me, Sora. I can manage."

Testing her leg a few times, she took her place again, as the whistle blew for the game to continue. Although the pain wasn't as bad as it had been at first, she knew that it wouldn't last. Especially against Iwaki.

As she bent her knees experimentally in readiness for the ball, she caught the eyes of Tezuka, sitting in the front row of the Seigaku section. He nodded, and she could almost hear the silent words.

_Don't let your guard down. _

She smiled briefly, before turning back to the game, as Sora took possession of the ball, glasses flashing in her direction.

Tezuka resisted the urge to smile, and he kept his expressionless face absolutely still. After all, it wouldn't do to let down his own guard in front of all these people.

Beside him, Fuji smiled enigmatically, and leant over to whisper to Tezuka, "Saa, you look very worried about something. By any chance, could it be Wakanari?"

Tezuka gave him a blank look, that said in Tezuka fashion, _Don't try me, Fuji._

But the tensai wasn't deterred in the least. "You would make a good knight, wouldn't you Tezuka? Can't you imagine yourself on a white horse, dashing in to save the damsel in distress…"

His voice trailed off suggestively, just in time for Tezuka's words, "Fuji, ten laps next practice."

Fuji only laughed sadistically, but he didn't say anymore. Perhaps he didn't want to push Tezuka _too _far that day.

On the other side of the captain, Inui had begun scribbling away in his notebook again, glancing through his glasses at Tezuka.

"Hmm…it seems as if Tezuka's facial expressions have increased by a hundredth of a percent…interesting."

"Ne, shall we see if we can raise that number?"

"Fuji."

"Gomen, gomen. I'll stop talking now so you can concentrate on worrying about your lady love."

"…twenty laps."

"Ii, good data."

* * *

Akira ground her teeth together as a pass from Shizuka was intercepted when her defender deliberately stepped on her foot, grinding her heel in.

Ever since Rei had taken the first injury, many more had followed.

Michiko was not a fool, and the entire Iwaki team was fouling left and right, skilfully concealing their actions from the two watching referees.

Akira had to give it to them- they were good at what they did, even if what they did was disgusting and low.

The entire crowd was muttering and jeering at the Iwaki team, save for the student supporters. Everyone had seen the dirty play from the other team- but there was nothing they could do about it if the referees couldn't see.

"Oi!" she snapped at Shizuka. "Watch where you're passing!"

"Excuse me? It's your fault you couldn't get past your defender!"

"_Baka_, couldn't you see that she was stepping on my foot?"

Sora cut through their rising argument, face annoyed and even more grim than usual. "Cut it out, you two. We have a job to do."

Akira agreed with that. The scoreboard was not tilting in their favour- the score was twenty-nine to seventeen to Iwaki, and the first quarter was almost over. The flow was completely with the other school, and every player on court knew it.

"Alright, defence!" Sora shouted, as the Iwaki players approached again, aiming for the basket. Akira quickly glanced around at their team, and what she saw did not look good for them.

Shizuka was panting hard, but overall, she seemed to be fine apart from a few bruises that she had gotten from elbowing. That was bad enough as it was.

Yuki seemed to be having some problems with her hand. The center had been pushed over, and an Iwaki player had stepped on her hand, _hard. _The tall girl was grimacing slightly as she flexed her fingers, trying to get it working again.

Akira herself was reasonably fine in comparison. Of course, she would never have allowed herself to be injured seriously enough to hinder her play. If she had been, her opponent's face would have been spurting out blood a long time ago.

As it was, it would still be by the end of the game.

Sora had a nasty-looking scratch on her face, as well as several on her arm. They had been the result of an "unintentional" clawing by the Iwaki center, who had blasted her way over the Seigaku captain by pure force.

Still, she seemed to be functioning well enough.

Rei was by far the worst. Although the injury sustained by her knee wasn't actually too serious, it had been aggravated by deliberate pressure from Michiko in particular. And she had gone through a few falls as well.

Akira had to give it to the Iwaki captain, however grudgingly- she knew what she was doing. With every movement, she was putting maximum pressure on Rei's left knee, in offence as well as defence.

The power forward growled in irritation as Michiko caught the ball yet again, standing outside of the three-point line.

"Rei-senpai! Watch her!"

Rei watched Michiko carefully. The Iwaki captain was a very good shooter-she had already scored three consecutive three-pointers. Rei had only managed to pass Michiko's defence once from outside the three-point line.

Still, she kept on going. She stayed in front of Michiko, skidding and changing directions as quickly as she could to keep up with the other shooting guard.

Suddenly, the other girl moved back, and before Rei could get in front, shot the ball again. It went in, scoring another three points for Iwaki. Cheering came up from the Iwaki supporters, as they applauded their captain's performance.

"_Fujiwara will win! Iwaki will win!_"

As she turned and began the long, painful journey back to the other end of the court, Rei pressed her lips savagely together. She couldn't fail here- the entire team was relying on her to stop Michiko.

"Rei!" She looked up just in time to see Sora pass the ball to her, and she barely managed to catch it by the tips of her fingers.

Adrenaline was searing through her entire body- she could feel her pulse throbbing and her head spinning. The cheering of the crowd, the sound of the match- all of it was strangely faint, echoing weirdly in her head.

All she could see in front of her was the ball- and in her way, Fujiwara Michiko.

The other girl was standing a few metres away from her, not even trying to move towards her. All she did was stand there, fixing Rei with that blank, intimidating stare of hers.

_Why? Why isn't she even trying to defend me?_

Sora glanced sharply at Rei, glasses flashing. "Rei, don't just stand there, shoot!"

As if they had a mind of their own, Rei's hands automatically got into position on Sora's command, and her knees bent as she got ready to shoot.

Reflexively, for a split second, her eyes darted to Michiko, to see if she was coming to defend. Rei froze as her eyes registered the Iwaki captain still standing there, but with a small, scheming smile on her face.

Nevertheless, she steeled herself as she tensed her muscles and prepared to shoot. Just as she was about to launch herself into the air, she froze again in shocked horror.

"What a pity. That knee of yours won't last the game."

Rei's eyes flashed over to Michiko, and almost as if the other shooting guard had pulled a string connected to her leg, her knee twisted and gave inwards, sending her left leg out at a strange angle.

_What? _

The dark haired girl felt herself collapsing backwards, her right foot unprepared to take the force of the jump.

In the final moment before she fell, Rei released the ball. The second it left her hands, she knew it was no good. The jerk of her knee had tilted the angle of the shot- it wouldn't make it.

Everyone watched the shot, holding their breath. Inui shook his head, turning away from the court. "It's no good. The shot won't go in."

As if he had made it happen, the ball hit the rim of the basket, teetered indecisively for a second, before slowly and ominously, falling away.

Rei closed her eyes, and let herself take the impact of the fall. She hit the ground, her left leg taking the full force of the fall on her ankle, and she gritted her teeth in pain as she felt her knee collide with the cold, hard ground.

_Damn it. _

But before anyone could move towards her, a growl of frustration was heard, and Rei lifted her head up in time to see Akira leaping high into the air, hands outstretched and ready to catch the ball.

"_We won't be defeated so easily!_"

And then she slammed the ball straight into the basket, scoring another two points for Seigaku.

Rei let her head fall back onto the ground, staring up. Up at the blinding white lights that filled the stadium, dazzling her.

_Akira has grown up so much. She'll be an amazing player._

A strange face filled her vision, and she recognized the black and white stripes of the referee. "Ah, number seven, are you good to continue? You alright?"

She slowly pushed herself off the ground, careful not to put any pressure onto her left knee that wasn't necessary. "Yes, I'm fine."

She looked over the referee's shoulder, and made eye contact with Michiko, who was still standing there, watching her impassively.

_You're weak. _

She could feel the sharp, stabbing pain every time she took a step, searing through her knee.

_You're pathetic. _

Michiko's eyes pierced right through her, condemning and scornful.

_You're not fit to play basketball. _

Her head pounded as adrenaline raced through her body, drowning her in a sea of chaos and confusion.

_You're not good enough. _

The voices were overwhelming her, mercilessly dragging her down, and forcing her head beneath the water, burning and suffocating.

As Rei turned away from Michiko, her eyes met those of Sora's, no expression in them at all-no disappointment, but no pity either.

She couldn't take the pressure. It was just too much, too much to handle. The tension in her shoulders reached almost its breaking point, as Rei wordlessly turned away.

As her friend walked away from her, shoulders hunched and head down as if she was trying to hide away from the world, Sora watched her go.

She felt so much worry for Rei, but she knew that this wasn't her problem to overcome. It was Rei's, and if she couldn't, it might cost them a win.

But if she could, it would be worth all the pain and hardships.

* * *

The tennis regulars watched the ongoing game with a mixed feeling of impending horror and shock.

It was already the end of the third quarter, and Seigaku was trailing behind Iwaki fifty-four to sixty-one. The difference of points in itself was not big- but the flow of the game was solidly behind Iwaki, and the morale of the Seigaku players was beginning to run low.

"_Ganbatte Seigaku! Come on! Win! Win! Win!_"

Sora tilted her bottle back, and let the cold, refreshing water run down her dry, aching throat. She glanced sideways at Rei, who was slumped sitting on the bench, towel pulled up over her head and hiding her face in shadows.

She had the air of someone who had already been defeated.

The blonde captain observed the rest of her team, smiling humourlessly and wryly to herself as she examined their characteristic reactions.

Yuki seemed to be the least affected. She had a placid, blank expression of grim determination on her face as she drank from her bottle. The third-year had long been the pillar of support for the team, and that hadn't changed in the slightest.

Shizuka was raging mad. It was obvious- she was sitting on the edge of the seat, feet tapping in irritation and a furious expression on her face. Her hands sporadically clenched and flexed, as if she wanted to stomp over and choke the Iwaki players to death.

Akira was sporting her usual expression of annoyance and boredom, staring meaninglessly at the ground. But to Sora, her anger was clear- her eyes were fixed murderously on her shoes, worn from all the hassle they had gone through.

"Igarashi-san?"

Sora turned to see Oishi leaning forward, beckoning with a hand to her. Frowning slightly, she got off the bench and walked over to the stands, looking up through the railings to the tennis regulars.

"Yes, Oishi-san?"

"Is Wakanari-san alright? She seems to be in a bad state…"

Sora nodded soberly. "We can only hope that Rei snaps out of it soon, or we'll probably be set on a path to a loss."

Kikumaru leaned forward as well, eyes wide open in curiosity and worry. "Nya, Igarashi-chan, why is Wakanari-chan so important? I mean, no offence, but she isn't the ace of the team. So why is her being bad so…bad for the team?"

His question trailed off, and he glanced around at all of the weird stares he was getting. "What?"

"Eiji-senpai, that was a weird question…"

Sora shook her head thoughtfully, and she interrupted. "No, I understand your confusion, Kikumaru-san. You see, Rei isn't just the shooting guard of our team."

She paused, and looked around at the nine pairs of eyes fixed on her. "Sure, her three-pointers are very important for our scoring- I mean, without them, that's a lot of points we don't get. But Rei is also the most important offensive player of our team, even before Akira."

"What? How's that possible? Isn't Kurenai the ace of the team?"

Sora smiled briefly. "Yes, you could say Akira is the ace. But that's not the point- Rei definitely has the best footwork and ball handling in our entire team. Really, she's the player with the most talent and potential, followed by Akira."

"_Ehhh?_"

"But you're the captain…"

Sora adjusted her glasses again. "Yes, but that's because I am the better player. And because I'm more strict," she added as an afterthought.

"Wait…what? You're the better player…but Wakanari-senpai has the most talent?"

"Yes. You see, Rei is completely useless with strategy- she can't predict a thing to save her life."

The regulars sweatdropped at her bluntness. "Okay…"

"I, on the other hand, am not as naturally gifted as her, but I plan out every single move to achieve the best results. It's sort of like your play," she directed at Inui, who nodded. "I may not be the most naturally talented, but I predict and strategize."

"I see…"

"But Rei has this…_feel _for the ball. She doesn't predict, but by watching her opponent, she has some sort of strange feeling for what will happen. It's not predicting, it's sort of like an instinct. You could call it a mix of insight or foresight, I guess."

"Sugoi…that's amazing…"

Tezuka automatically looked over at Rei, who was still sitting in that defeated posture, huddling in on herself. Just looking at her made him feel disheartened.

Still…if what Sora had said was true, than Rei had an incredible gift, a talent that could assure her career in the future.

Tezuka's eyes focused on her knee, and his gaze softened ever so slightly. Ever since that first fall, Rei had been flinching away from every movement, regardless of whether or not her knee would actually have been injured further. She couldn't help it- it was an instinctive reflex to protect her injury from even more damage.

Beside him, Fuji noticed his lack of attention, and followed his line of vision. His eyes opened in understanding, and he leant over to murmur in Sora's ear. "Ne, Igarashi-san, do you think you could get Wakanari to come over here?"

Sora lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "I guess I could, but why?"

The tensai cast a loaded glance at Tezuka, who was sitting with his arms crossed and watching Rei expressionlessly, but with carefully disguised watchfulness.

"Maybe Tezuka could help her come out of her state. After all, no one understands the pain of an injury better than he does."

Both of them surveyed him meditatively for a few seconds, before Sora nodded in acquiescence. "Alright, I'll get Rei now. But make sure it's quick- we only have a minute or so before the break's over."

She strode over to Rei, and gently shook her shoulder, whispering a few words in her ear. Meanwhile, Fuji leant back over to Tezuka, and spoke quietly to him so as to avoid overhearing from the rest of the regulars.

"Tezuka."

The captain glanced sideways at him. "What is it, Fuji?" Tezuka was wary- Fuji usually meant bad news for him.

"Talk to Wakanari."

"…"

Fuji pressed on before Tezuka could refuse. "I'm serious about this. You're the only one who understands what it's like to have a serious injury hindering your play. No one can help Wakanari play like her normal self again better than you can. And you know it."

Tezuka hesitated, and the tensai seized the opportunity to gesture at Rei, who was slowly getting up, face still shadowed and obscured.

"Look at her now. Isn't it worth it to see her play with a smile again?"

It wasn't like Tezuka could refuse anymore. The scheming tensai had timed his unusually serious words perfectly to be followed by Rei walking slowly over to the bench, followed by Sora.

Besides, he didn't like the disheartened, bewildered look on Rei's face.

It just wasn't right.

Sora looked at the tensai with a frown on her face. _Are you sure about this?_

Fuji smiled secretly at her, and mouthed, _You'll see. _

Both of them backed discretely away, but not before Fuji whispered in Tezuka's ear, "We'll leave you two alone for now, ne? Just remember you only have a minute. Make it fast."

And then it was just the two of them, separated by the railing between them.

* * *

Rei was lost.

She was lost at how to find herself again. She didn't know what had happened.

All she knew was she had missed every single shot she had taken so far.

All she knew was that she had let down her team.

All she knew was that she had lost to Michiko.

And now, standing there below and in front of Tezuka, the one who demanded perfection of both himself and others, she couldn't even look him in the eye.

She must look like such a disappointment to him- a player that had simply given up on their teammates.

To one who had such high expectations of their own teammates, she must appear to be such a pathetic failure. She had disappointed everyone- Sora, the whole team, even Michiko must be laughing at her now. And now even Tezuka.

"Wakanari-san."

She couldn't bear to lift her head. The shame and guilt of failing her entire team was weighing her down.

"Wakanari-san."

It just wasn't working. At the end of the third quarter, she hadn't even been able to catch the ball without flinching. None of the Iwaki players even had to touch her- all they had to do was come close, and she would completely fall apart.

Yes, she had fallen apart out there- there was no denying it now.

"Wakanari."

The sudden lack of honorifics shocked Rei enough to lift her head, staring blankly at Tezuka. He looked surprisingly uncomfortable, as if he didn't really know what to say.

"You should believe more in yourself."

Her eyes widened, and she just stood there, staring past the railing at him in complete and utter shock. Tezuka, of all people, was encouraging her?

He shifted slightly under her gaze. "Everyone believes in you. You should share the burden with your teammates." As she stared at him in confusion, he added, "That's what they're there for."

"Do you think so?"

He nodded stiffly, feeling slightly encouraged at the sight of a hopeful look from Rei.

"You don't have to be afraid."

The vulnerable expression on Rei's face completely caught him off guard. He hadn't been expecting to see such an open, lost look on someone usually so carefree and confident in themselves.

"Really?"

The word were uttered in such a soft whisper that Tezuka had to strain his ears just to catch it.

There was a pause, filled with meaningful silence.

"…Really."

* * *

The whistle had blown, and the players all strode back onto the court, ready for the fourth and final quarter to begin. Sora bent slightly over, preparing herself for the draining last ten minutes of the game.

She glanced over at Rei. Ever since her best friend had come back over after speaking to Tezuka, she had seemed far more peaceful and relaxed, even back to her normal self.

Sora hoped it wasn't too much to ask to have her completely back to normal.

Akira had the ball, and she had dribbled down the court to the three-point line, and had stopped there. Looking around at the other members of the team, she glanced around frantically.

_Damn it. No one's free! Who do I pass to? Or do I dribble? But this girl will do the same thing again and trip me over! What do I do?_

"Akira!"

That voice jerked Akira's head around, and she stared in shock at Rei. The vice-captain had broken free from Michiko, surprisingly, and was holding her hand out ready for a pass.

In that split second of indecision, Akira whipped the ball towards Rei, and prayed, for the first time in her life, that it would make it.

Michiko lunged forward, only to see the ball graze past her fingertips and land in the hands of Rei.

For a moment, no one on the court moved. Not even Rei. She stared at the ball in her hands, as if seeing it for the first time.

Everyone was watching her, waiting for her next move.

And then she slowly raised her hands into a shooting form.

Michiko relaxed. After all, this had happened many times before. Rei would try to shoot, only to have her knee reflexively jolt and miss her shot again.

Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. Something was different this time. Was it the form? No, it was the expression of the Seigaku shooting guard's face. Before, she had become increasingly frantic and panicked, as each consecutive shot missed. But now, she had an expression of calm on her face.

And her eyes were closed.

"_What?_"

Michiko lunged forward again, a cold feeling settling over her. An sixth sense told her that this time, if Rei took the shot, she would not miss.

But she was too late. Just as she reached Rei, the girl raised the ball. Michiko launched herself high into the air, desperately trying to block the shot she knew was coming.

"You won't pass me!"

She looked down, only to see Rei had vanished. Michiko frantically twisted her body, trying to see where the girl had gone.

Rei had not shot- she had instead pivoted past the Iwaki captain and had jumped. She performed a half-spin in mid-air, passing Michiko. In the air, for a moment, she was facing the basket.

She lifted her hands, and shot.

"_No!_"

Michiko threw herself forward again, only to miss the ball by the width of a fingernail. The ball arched gracefully through the air, as if freezing time.

For a few seconds, no one breathed. No one moved.

Tezuka leant forward, eyes fixed on the falling ball.

It slowly fell, spinning slowly through the air. Every player on the court, every person sitting in the audience, was watching that shot, hearts stopped.

And then the ball fell into the hoop.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you all for reading this new chapter! So Rei's revealed her new move! :) I'm thinking about developing one or two other minor pairings in this story…maybe Sora and Fuji? Akira and Momoshiro or Kaidoh? I don't know, what do you guys want? Review and tell me what you think! But don't worry, Tezuka and Rei will always be the main focus of this story! Just a quick notice, I may be slow with updates over the next couple of weeks, because I will be very busy with my studies. I will definitely update after a few weeks, but I will try to before then. Until next chapter!


	8. Chapter Seven: Reckless

**A/N: **Sorry about the not up to standard update, but as I mentioned in the previous chapter, I am very busy at the moment, and I tried to finish this chapter as soon as I could! _Shattered Fragments _has reached thirty-nine thousand words now! I am so amazed that I've managed to continue up until this point with relatively few writer blocks! Thank you to all of the people who have reviewed, followed or added my story as a favourite. I really appreciate it!

This chapter is dedicated to _VanillaAnime_, another faithful supporter of my story who has given me a lot of encouragement over the past couple of weeks! Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

"_Foul! White number four! Basket counts! One shot!_"

The Seigaku tennis regulars looked confused. "Wait, what just happened?"

Inui caught on first. "Ah, it seems as though Fujiwara fouled Wakanari-san in her attempt to stop the shot, but the ball went in anyway."

On the court, the players were beginning to line up, preparing for the free throw. Michiko just stood there, staring at her hands.

_What happened? _

She wasn't supposed to foul, let alone miss intercepting a shot. She was supposed to be impassable, the wall of Iwaki that would stop any shot. Countless shooters had come up against her only to fail miserably, lose the match and often quit basketball, unable to bear the trauma of missing every shot.

But that hadn't happened. What had went wrong?

* * *

"_Focus, Michiko. You'll never get anywhere if you don't concentrate."_

_The little girl stood on the court, panting in exhaustion and frustration. "I'm not getting anywhere! Every time I try to block the shot, it still goes past me!"_

_The old man towered over her, arms folded and as solid and menacing as a mountain. "Michiko, stop making pathetic excuses to yourself. Your father was a talented basketball player. But he gave it all up for a woman. You may not have his talent in shooting, but you will not make the same mistake."_

"_Grandfather…" Her older brother tried to intervene, stepping up next to the girl. _

"_Kaito, do not interrupt. You are already well on the way to becoming an excellent shooter, and Michiko needs to learn her lesson. Both of you cannot waste a single minute of practice."_

_He turned back to Michiko, who automatically took a step back, clutching her brother's shirt. Her grandfather examined her sternly, face completely unyielding. _

"_If you cannot shoot, you must learn to defend. It's the only thing you can do, so you must excel in it."_

_A tear threatened to fall in the corner of her eye, and Michiko hastily wiped it away, not wanting to show any sign of weakness in front of her grandfather. She didn't want him to know how much his words hurt. _

"_Practice is the key to success. All you can do is practise, and practise more. Again."_

_Michiko stared at the ball in her brother's hands, and then at her own again. _

_Renewed determination rose up in her, and she met her grandfather's gaze for the first time, and stared at him blankly. _

"_Yes, Grandfather. I understand."_

_He scrutinized her for a minute, before nodding gruffly. "Good."_

_Michiko turned away from her brother, straightening her shoulders and wiping her face blank of any emotions. Weakness was unacceptable. Only success lay in front of her. _

_And on that day, the iron wall of Iwaki was born._

* * *

"White number four! Please step back to the three-point line!"

Michiko didn't even look up- all she could do was continue staring at her hands. The Iwaki vice-captain jogged over, shaking her shoulder worriedly.

"Fujiwara-buchou? Are you alright?"

Michiko absently nodded, and ran her fingers over the calluses on her hands- the testimony to the hours of practice and dedication that had gone into the perfecting of her famed defence.

All of that effort, all of the pain, all of the tears- gone. All because of that girl.

Michiko lifted her heavy-lidded gazed and glared at Rei. Really _glared_. Gone was her blank, flat expression- all that was in her face was hatred and anger. Even her vice-captain, who was standing next to her, nervously took a step back.

"Um…Fujiwara-buchou?"

She was so tempted to just _snap _at the girl. After all, it was all the fault of her team. If they hadn't been so mediocre, she wouldn't have been forced to develop the violent play style that was their trademark, and her perfect record wouldn't have been dumped down the drain like this…

But she kept herself calm.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. _

"I'm coming." And she strode over to her position, watching with barely veiled anger as Rei easily made the free throw, earning another point for Seigaku.

The cheering from the crowd grew ever louder. "_Seigaku, Seigaku, Seigaku!_"

As Michiko ran back towards the other end with her team, she could feel her anger building up and up, until her vision was stained red with fury. How dare that Seigaku player ruin her hard work like this?

No, she wouldn't stand for it, and that was that.

Glaring intensely towards the unsuspecting Rei, she turned sharply to the Iwaki point guard, who was currently in possession of the ball.

"Harada!" she barked out stiffly. The player immediately sprang into action, passing the ball to her. Sora lunged out, trying to intercept the pass, but her fingertips only grazed it, knocking it askew.

Michiko was there in a flash, seizing the ball and turning to look at the basket. She was the shooting guard- she had done this so many times before. She had enjoyed proving her grandfather wrong, by shooting and scoring as many times as she could.

Now, it had become a part of her.

Jumping as high as she could, she aimed and shot, only to belatedly realize that Rei had already lunged forward and hit the ball out of her hands and into a waiting Sora's grasp.

Michiko fell backwards, the sensation of her empty hands stinging and foreign.

Rei didn't even look at her- the tilted, lopsided smile that distinguished her from everyone else around her was back.

Running back the other way, Akira glanced swiftly at her senpai between fast, shallow breaths. She smiled slightly, before snorting and turning away.

Sora had passed the ball to Shizuka, who was darting around like quicksilver, looking for a way through the defence. She neatly dodged all of the furtive blows and elbows aimed at her, and shouted out, "Sora-buchou!"

Before the words had left her mouth, the ball was already in the air, flying straight for the blonde Seigaku captain. Sora didn't even glance at it, her hand came up swiftly just in time to catch the ball. With her left hand, she adjusted her glasses, scrutinizing her defender.

Kikumaru sweatdropped, and looked at Tezuka. "Hey, Tezuka! How does Igarashi-chan keep doing that weird glasses push of hers? How does she have time to keep doing it in a basketball match?"

"…Why are you asking me?"

The red-haired boy just stared at him blankly. "Because you have glasses!"

"…"

Inui glanced at Tezuka quickly before looking back at Kikumaru. "Why did you ask Tezuka, though?"

"Eh?" Kikumaru looked confused. "But I just answered that?"

His doubles partner nudged him gently and discreetly, telling him to be quiet. "Eiji, don't be so insensitive-"

"Duh, Inui-senpai wanted you to ask _him_, Eiji-senpai," Momoshiro scoffed. "It's so obvious!"

The third-years all turned to Momoshiro, who leaned away nervously. "Hey, why are you all looking at me?"

"It's not obvious, Momo! Why do you have to be so mean, nya!"

"HEY! It's your fault you had to ask stone-faced buchou instead of the glasses stalker over there!"

"I'm offended…there's a ninety-three percent chance Tezuka will make you run laps for it, so I guess regular Inui juice will have to do as my revenge…"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WILL HAVE TO DO?! IT'S BAD ENOUGH!"

"…Momoshiro."

"H-hai, buchou?"

"…thirty laps."

* * *

"_Iwaki! Ganbatte! Iwaki! Ganbatte!"_

"_Seigaku! Seigaku! Fight! Fight! Fight!_"

There was only two minutes left of the game, and the flow of the match was entirely behind the Seigaku team.

They were leading Iwaki eighty-seven to sixty-nine, and the game seemed to be completely settled. Many of the spectators were on their feet, cheering the players on.

Rei silently laughed, letting herself ride on the adrenaline of the match, with hundreds of people looking on as she played. This was where she belonged, in the blinding lights of the stadium, thousands of eyes fixed on her as she ran wild.

In the whole final quarter, Rei had been continuously scoring three-pointers, from whatever position she was in, whatever angle she was at. The move she had unveiled at the beginning of the quarter had appeared again and again, in various different forms. Michiko was at her limit, eyes dilated and nostrils flared white as she blindly stumbled and lunged, only to have Rei spin past her yet again.

Rei was exhilarated. There was no other word for it. As she made shot after shot, and easily bypassed Michiko's guard again and again, the other girl was clearly growing angrier and more frustrated.

_What is wrong with what I'm doing? Why is this good-for-nothing Seigaku brat defeating me so easily?_

Michiko desperately lunged for another pass to Rei, but missed it by her fingertips again. Rei was already in a shooting position, the ball was just about to leave her fingertips.

The Iwaki captain had learnt the hard way that if she tried to jump, Rei would only perform that impossibly fast feint again, and spin past her. So she stayed on the ground in front of the other girl, reasoning that if she stayed put, she would be able to follow Rei's movements and stop her.

_You won't get past me this time! That trick won't work on me again!_

She began moving to the right as soon as she saw Rei shift her weight onto her left foot, leaning that way. A smirk broke through her panic, she had guessed right.

_I've got you now!_

Suddenly, she froze. Rei wasn't going to the right at all- she was moving left! _Damn it! _She skidded and changed directions, sliding in front of Rei. Her hands were extended, in an attempt to stop the ball from passing her.

To her utter horror, Rei had moved again. By the time she managed to look over her shoulder, the Seigaku shooting guard had already gotten into position, and was poised for a shot.

"NO!" Everyone's eyes shot to Michiko, as she sprinted as fast as she could to Rei, vicious anger and desperation in her eyes. No one would have thought the emotionless, cold-hearted captain of Iwaki could make such a dreadful, passionate sound. All of the other Iwaki and Seigaku players watched in shock and amazement, unable to move.

Sparks seemed to fly from Michiko's shoes, as she skidded and jumped, praying that the ball wouldn't get past her.

Suddenly, cries of surprise and gasps of shock were heard resounding through the entire audience as they watched the amazing display of one-on-one play take place.

Michiko heard them, and she glanced down in dismay, only to see Rei still unmoving, with her knees bent in preparation for a shot.

_How is that possible? How could I have not seen through her moves?_

She had been the best in defence. Always. She had known her grandfather was right- no matter how much she trained in offensive attacks, she would always be a better defender. But that final pride was being torn away from her as she played, every second the game kept going shredding it into ever smaller pieces.

Rei jumped at last, feeling the cold air rush past her as she raised the ball in her hands into the shooting form, aiming for the basket.

For a second, as both Michiko and Rei were suspended in the air, their eyes met. Green clashed against cold grey- they were locked in a silent battle, both physically and in mental will.

And then Michiko began to fall.

She glared disbelievingly at Rei, who hadn't fallen yet, but released the ball perfectly. Michiko ground her teeth as she watched helplessly as the ball flew through the air yet again- she couldn't do anything to stop the shot. Rei had deliberately feinted to make her jump first, before making the shot when she was already falling to the ground.

_This is impossible! How could she have known I would do that?_

Behind her, a calm and methodical voice spoke up, as if reading and answering her thoughts. "Rei didn't know."

Michiko spun around angrily and disbelievingly to see Sora standing behind her, hand reaching up to adjust the position of her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "What do you mean she didn't know? Of course she knew, otherwise how else could she have performed that move?!"

Sora didn't react at all to Michiko's furious words, she merely turned away, and began walking towards the other end.

"Hey! Don't you dare walk away from me like that, Igarashi!"

She went completely ignored, and behind her, she heard in the resulting silence the unmistakeable swish of the net as the ball fell into the basket.

* * *

With less than a minute left on the timer, the spectators were beside themselves with excitement. Thunderous cheering and chanting reverberated throughout the stadium- the noise was deafening.

But for once, Tezuka didn't mind. He was too caught up in the adrenaline-fueled excitement of watching the game to even notice.

The entire Seigaku section was on their feet, screaming the players on.

"_Seigaku! Seigaku! Fight! Fight! Fight!"_

Most of the tennis regulars had joined in the chanting and wild cheering- of course, Tezuka did not. But he, at the insistence of Fuji, had stood up as well, and was watching the last seconds of the game with a uncharacteristic display of interest.

Of course, none of this escaped from the perceptive eyes of either Fuji or Inui.

Both of them smiled, and looked away, not wanting their observation of their stone-faced captain to be noticed by said person.

But Tezuka could be excused for his lack of attention at that moment- because the Seigaku team had stolen the ball from Iwaki and was making a final fast break down the court in the last ten seconds of the game.

The crowd screamed the players on, the cheers fuelling the pounding of the feet that virtually _flew _across the court.

Sora had the ball again, her analysing, strategizing eyes were flashing everywhere, her hand raised in her trademark glasses push. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she threw the ball high into the air backwards, over her head.

As the timer mercilessly ticked down, the spectators were all screaming in surprise and frenzy- to them, it seemed as though Seigaku had given up trying to score.

But the tennis regulars knew better- they had seen this before.

"Seriously? She's going to do _that _now?"

It appeared Sora was serious about doing it. As the Iwaki players stood stunned on the court, a familiar blur appeared, and Rei materialized in front of the ball, hands already raised in a shooting position.

Michiko forced her frozen limbs to move, dashing towards Rei, who was on the brink of releasing the shot.

_Move, move, MOVE!_

In a desperate burst of speed, she managed to skid in front of Rei. Michiko shrieked in wild triumph, knowing that Rei wouldn't be able to shoot past her much taller frame in the remaining time.

But then she froze, eyes wide. She was suddenly frozen to the spot, no matter how much her mind screamed at her body to move. Rei had suddenly skidded, out of nowhere, to the left, and was aiming at the basket again.

_WHAT?_

It shocked everyone when Michiko managed to force her body into clumsily sliding in front of Rei again. "I won't let you score!"

A shadow of a smile appeared on Rei's face, and all Michiko could see was the shadows hiding the upper half of her face, the only thing visible being her eyes, piercing and dark.

"But what if I don't want to?"

And then the ball left her hands, to fly directly into the hands of Akira, standing ready in the key. Before anybody could react, the second-year was charging towards the basket, muscles straining as she leapt high into the air.

The timer had reached one second; but everyone's eyes were glued to her as she approached the hoop.

"No way! She can't make it now!"

Akira proved them all wrong as she slammed the ball with all the force she had left into the basket, as the timer screamed out the end of the game in its wailing screech.

She hung from the hoop for a few moments, before jumping backwards and landing heavily, the hoop still trembling from the last slam dunk.

The entire stadium was silent. No one spoke. Not even the players, all standing there, panting and sweating.

A single person could be heard, clapping slowly. The sound echoed strangely through the quiet stadium for a second. Then the noise erupted, and frenzied cheering almost blew the ceiling off, as the entire crowd jumped to its feet and cheered the new district champions.

* * *

"_Seishun Gakuen wins, ninety-four to eighty-two!_"

The two teams lined up, and bowed to each other in respectful acknowledgement. Sora stepped up to Michiko, who was staring at her hands with a shocked, almost vulnerable expression.

"Fujiwara."

The Iwaki captain didn't move- she just kept staring at her hands, eyes wide and fingers trembling.

"I lost," she whispered, as though speaking to herself. "How is that possible?"

Sora surveyed her not unsympathetically- after all, losing was a bitter pill to swallow, especially when your reputation was as good as Michiko's was. "Fujiwara, it was a good game."

Michiko's head snapped up, and her expression quickly transformed into one of surprised anger. "How? Tell me, just _how _was it a good game? My shooting was horrible, and my defence-" She choked on the word, as though it had jammed in her throat.

"What?"

The words were soft, but Sora heard the harsh, jarring bitterness in them clearly enough. "It just fell apart."

The blonde captain almost felt sorry for Michiko. Really, to have your nationally famous defence broken through by a relatively new player definitely wasn't easy. But Sora wasn't that forgiving; she hadn't forgotten the injuries that Rei and the rest of her team had sustained as a result of Iwaki's play.

"Pull yourself together, Fujiwara."

"Wha- _Excuse me?_"

Sora just continued in that straightforward, blunt manner of hers. "If you intend to make the National team this year, you'd better get it together fast."

And then she just turned on her heel and walked off, without another word or glance spared for Michiko. The Iwaki captain just stood there, staring at her fellow captain's back as she joined her team as they cheered and celebrated their victory.

_She…believes that I can make the team?_

In the wake of Sora's startling words, she heard footsteps behind her, and an awkward, unsure cough. She turned, and saw her whole team standing there behind her.

"Um…buchou?" Her vice-captain finally spoke up. "We just wanted to tell you that…you, um, played well."

Michiko's face only registered her shock. Her teammates had always been respectfully afraid and wary of her. This approach was unexpected.

Another player joined in. "But buchou…I think- no, we think that you play well enough to not have to keep up, you know, our bad reputation for violence. Do you think that we could maybe…start over again?"

The first thought that came into Michiko's head was, _Starting again is impossible! _After all, Iwaki had already built up a solid reputation for being violent, and who was she kidding- it was a strategy to win. Call it what you will- merciless, conniving, disgusting- it didn't matter. All that mattered was the victory. She herself had drilled it into her team, basing the entire foundation of their play around that concept.

But…maybe it was time for a change, after all. Who knew, maybe that Igarashi was right. And if she wanted to make the National team again…perhaps she needed to start over again.

_What the hell_, she thought, and laughed wildly, looking up towards the ceiling. Her team watched her uncertainly, not sure of why she was suddenly laughing.

Michiko finally subsided, and she looked at her team with a sincerity and freedom that they had never seen in their captain before. "Yes. Yes, let's do that."

As Iwaki filed out of the stadium, acknowledged by applause from the audience, Michiko, at the end of the line, looked at Sora, standing in the middle of the Seigaku line-up. The two captains shared a brief glance, before Michiko looked away. There was a small smile playing on her lips.

"Igarashi…maybe you were right."

Sora's lips curved up into a reciprocating smile, and she nodded. "Yeah."

Michiko swiftly moved onto Rei, standing on the other side of Sora. Her expression was serious and thoughtful.

"Wakanari-san."

"Fujiwara-san?"

"I'm not going to apologize, if that's what you're thinking." As the Iwaki captain watched Rei stutter and protest frantically that she wasn't thinking that at all, she smiled. Rei had a certain naïve charm about her.

"But I will say it was a good game."

Rei looked surprised- just surprised. "Um, thanks?"

Michiko laughed lightly, before patting her on the shoulder and turning away. "See you in the National team then." And then she walked off after her team, white jacket blowing out behind her.

Rei smiled her lopsided, carefree smile, and although Michiko couldn't hear her any longer, she whispered, "Yeah, I'll see you there."

Beside her, Sora had a small smile on her face as well, and surreptitiously, her hand came up behind Rei's head, and tousled her hair. The dark-haired girl immediately backed away, hands flying up to shield her head. "Hey! Sora, what was that for?"

"For playing so horribly. Obviously."

As Rei's face fell in dismay, Sora gave her a measured, serious look, before bursting into laughter. "And _this _is for playing so amazingly at the end."

She stepped up to Rei, and whacked her lightly on the head. "Oi, watch it!"

"Then why didn't you play like that before! You would have saved us all so much trouble!"

Shizuka decided, just for the heck of it, to join in the ruckus as well, and jumped in, half-strangling Rei as she hung onto her back. Yuki sighed, and then walked into the fray, trying to separate Shizuka from Rei.

Akira just stood there for a moment, watching the entire team go from a scuffle to a group hug, all of them laughing and cheering to the crowd, which was on its feet and cheering with them.

"Yo, punk cherry! Get your lazy self over here!"

Akira scoffed, but walked over anyway. "Che, whatever, _baka risu_."

The Seigaku team had their arms around each other as they celebrated their hard-won victory. In the stands, the tennis regulars were also cheering, Kikumaru jumping around in celebration and Momoshiro doing a few classic fist pumps.

Tezuka just stood there silently, not moving at all.

In the midst of the hugging and cheering, Rei somehow glanced over at the stands, and caught his eyes. She smiled that familiar, lopsided smile at him, and he found his lips involuntarily curving upwards slightly as well.

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

The team jogged over to the stands, Shizuka immediately grasping the railing and vaulting her small frame into the middle of the tennis regulars. She immediately began talking animatedly with Kikumaru, who was gesticulating wildly in his enthusiasm.

Akira eyed her distastefully, before taking a few long strides and jumping up, easily reaching the railing and swinging over it. Yuki followed in a calmer manner, pulling her tall frame up easily.

Sora glanced at Rei, who was still smiling in that carefree, beautifully honest way. The blonde girl found herself smiling as well. Rei's happiness was far too infectious for her own good. "Come on, let's not get left behind."

She pulled herself up, miraculously somehow finding time to push her glasses up as she swung herself over the railing. Rei followed suit as she took a short run up and vaulted her body gracefully over the railings and landing lightly next to Tezuka.

They just watched both of their teams celebrating together, having fun and laughing. Eventually, he looked at her, and she looked at him.

"Wakanari."

"Tezuka-san?"

"It was a good game." At his words, Rei looked surprised, as the tilted smile made a reappearance on her face.

"Really?"

"…Really."

* * *

Rei was sitting in the back of the classroom yet again, completely tuning out the words of their teacher. She had her sketchbook open underneath the desk on her lap, and she was idly drawing whatever came into her mind at the moment.

Her eyes lazily travelled around the classroom, before stopping on Tezuka. Just watching him made Rei feel a bit guilty-really, he was a model student, sitting in the desk of the first ranked in class, taking notes studiously and listening closely to the teacher.

The mid-term examination rankings had been announced today- it was not a pretty look for most students.

Rei herself hadn't actually performed so bad. In fact, she had done reasonably well for her- when she had gone up to the noticeboard earlier in the day, she had been pleasantly surprised to see her name in the top fifty. Really, it was quite good for someone of her standards.

At number forty-three, things were looking up.

But then her eye had been caught by a gradually familiar name at the very top of the rankings list.

_Tezuka Kunimitsu. _

Her ego- or as she liked to call it, her _self-esteem_- had taken a rapid free fall after that.

Rei could never be able to maintain that much dedication to her academic studies. Even Sora, who was far better than she was, was not even close to Tezuka. He was amazing- being able to handle tennis responsibilities as captain, student council president duties, and still maintain his number one ranking in academic studies was no small thing.

Idly flipping the page, she unconsciously began drawing him. First his head, then his shoulders. Followed by his arms, leaning against the desk in front of him-

Forcefully, Rei shut her sketchbook, face burning with the embarrassment of realizing that she was drawing him.

Tezuka, the boy who had gotten so much closer to her in the past couple of weeks or so that she hadn't thought was possible. She couldn't even remember what it was like to not know him- to only remember him as the tennis captain and the president, the boy who had an incredible number of fangirls in the school.

She wasn't sure about her feelings towards him. Surely she didn't like him in that way- she barely knew anything about him? They had only become friends, if she could even call it that, in the last two weeks.

_Yes, _she thought to herself with determination, _I don't like him like that. I don't. _

She was sure of her feelings, wasn't she? Rei had never felt the need for romance in her life- she just didn't need it, and she didn't want it either.

Shrugging, she forced the matter from her mind, and soon forgot as the teacher began scribbling notes on the board. Whether she liked it or not, she needed those notes to pass her exams, and if she didn't…she shuddered just to think of the consequences.

Her co-curricular sporting club privileges would be revoked, and Sora would literally tear her hair out if that happened. Luckily, she managed to pass all of her subjects fairly, and she hoped that this good luck would continue, at least until the end of the year.

The opponents from there on out would only get harder and harder to defeat, and she couldn't afford another collapse like the last match.

Rei knew she had overreacted, but she couldn't help but cringe every time she thought back to the shattering pain that had jolted through her knee as Michiko had run into it. Every time after that, no matter how much her mind screamed at her body to stop moving, she had automatically flinched away from any potential contact, and that had been her downfall.

But she had overcome the obstacle for now, and Rei could only hope that any others from that point until the Nationals would not damage their chances at the title.

She had already felt the bitter, painful loss at the end of last year, and she never wanted to feel it again.

"Wakanari?"

She blinked, and looked up to see Tezuka standing at her desk. A brief glance around the classroom told her that class was over, and another free study period was in place. She smiled at the tall boy.

"Yes, Tezuka-san?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before asking quietly, "Is your knee alright?"

"My knee? Oh, right, it's fine! The doctor said that all I needed was a week or two of rest and no over exertion, and it should be as good as new."

"That's good to hear." And then he remained standing there awkwardly. Tezuka didn't know what to say next, and he didn't know how to introduce a new subject. Fortunately for him, Rei had it covered.

"Did you want to sit here, Tezuka-san? It's fine if you want to, my desk partner's away?" She gestured to the empty seat beside her.

He nodded, and stiffly sat, both of them ignoring the curious glances, or in some cases, glares, that were being directed at the two of them.

"I heard that you came first place again in the midterms. Congratulations!"

Tezuka didn't look particularly pleased at the praise- but then, Rei supposed, he was probably used to it by now.

"Thank you. You did quite well too."

Rei was surprised that he had noticed- really, it wasn't like he had to search very hard for his name and had accidentally stumbled across hers. His name was without fail always at the top, for goodness sake!

"Yeah, I guess. Forty-third isn't too bad…"

He nodded in agreement, and then glanced at the sketchbook lying on her desk. "I see you have been drawing again."

"Huh? Oh, yes, I have! Thanks again for giving it back to me, by the way. I really couldn't live without it!"

Tezuka almost laughed at this- really, Rei seemed to have no cares in the world, except for basketball and drawing.

But it wasn't like he was one to talk- his entire life revolved around tennis, followed closely by academic studies.

"May I see it?" Rei looked taken aback by his question, but smiled and nodded anyway. "Yeah sure, go ahead?"

Tezuka carefully opened the book, meticulously flipping through the pages one by one. What he saw amazed him.

Scenes from day to day- some of them he recognized- were depicted in such a lifelike manner that he almost expected them to start moving.

There was Sora, pushing up her glasses and eyeing him disapprovingly; then there was Akira and Shizuka, locked in one of their verbal battles again. A few familiar sights greeted him- the school grounds, the hallway-

Another page brought him to a startling discovery.

There, on the page, was himself. Tezuka guessed that Rei had drawn this at their district tournament last week- he was poised in what appeared to be his Zero Shiki drop shot- his racket was just skimming the ball, and Rei had beautifully pencilled in the movement of the ball as it spun away from him.

It was so lifelike that Tezuka could almost feel his arm swinging and performing the move right there.

A quick glance at Rei told him that she wasn't watching- another classmate of theirs had approached her for some reason, and she was immersed in some sort of discussion with the girl.

Tezuka flipped the page again, and there was him again- but this time, not on the tennis court.

It was him sitting in class, and looking up, he realized that it had been drawn from Rei's seat looking at his.

The longer he looked at it, the more small, insignificant details he noticed about it- the slight tensing of his shoulders as he copied notes, the frame of his glasses slightly askew as he adjusted them with his free hand- it was all there.

It was shocking to see himself depicted so realistically on the paper- he had never considered himself to be model material. But as he looked at the sketch in front of him, Tezuka found that he didn't actually mind.

The next page was blank, so he quietly closed the book, and replaced it on Rei's desk without her noticing. As he watched her laugh and talk, he noticed things about her that he had never noticed before.

The way her ponytail was tied up messily and strands of hair fell across her face, the way that she rolled the sleeves of her blouse up to her elbows- all of it he saw in a renewed light. She was still the person he knew before- careless, relaxed- but whereas before he would not have been able to remember what she looked like, now-

He felt as though the details were slowly being imprinted in his memory.

Rei finally finished talking with her classmate, who thanked her as she left, and turned back to Tezuka. She stopped short as she realized that he was watching her in a strange way- was it analysing?

"I'm sorry that I took so long, Tezuka-san."

"It's fine." A hesitation followed, before, "You draw very well."

Rei smiled brightly at the praise. "Do you really think so? I'm glad!"

Tezuka decided not to mention the drawings of him he had seen in her sketchbook- it wasn't really his business, and it wasn't like they hurt him in any way. He decided to change the subject to something more safe- the first thing that came into his mind was basketball.

"Wakanari, in the match with Iwaki…"

Rei immediately looked interested. "Yeah, what? Did you notice something I was doing wrong?"

"No…with the move you used towards the end…did you actually know what Fujiwara-san was about to do?"

Rei blinked, confused. "…No?"

When Tezuka looked at her expectantly, she elaborated. "It's not that I _knew _what she was about to do…it was more of a feeling, you know?"

Tezuka didn't know, but he just nodded anyway.

Rei continued, "When I play, I always just get this…feeling. Like a sixth sense, I suppose. So when an opponent comes up against me, I don't actually know, but as soon as I start moving, I just have this feeling about what they're about to do next, and it's usually right."

A pause followed.

"Does that even make sense?"

"Yes…" Tezuka was beginning to understand- he had heard of such things before, even in tennis. "Would you call it an instinct?"

Rei's face brightened, and she snapped her fingers. "Yes, that's the word I was looking for! It's an instinct!"

Tezuka nodded, and thought back to the way Rei had moved just a fraction of a second after her defender had begun moving another way.

At that moment, the bell rang, and Rei looked up, startled.

"Oh, it's already the end of the period? I didn't even notice! I can't believe we spent the whole time talking! It's not like I mind- I mean, it's better than studying…"

Tezuka was surprised. It wasn't like him to spend a whole period talking instead of studying.

Rei scrambled up, collecting her things, and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "Sorry, Tezuka-san, I have to leave now to meet Sora for some sort of captain meeting thing…I don't even know what it is. Sorry!"

"Aa, it's fine."

With a bright smile and a parting wave over her shoulder, Rei was out the door and gone in an instant.

Tezuka slowly stood up, gathering up his books as well. A textbook slipped out from between his fingers and fell to the floor.

He just looked at it for a moment, before inwardly sighing and bending down to pick it up. Really, when had he become so absent-minded?

* * *

**A/N: **Finally finished! At last, his story is finally getting started! So…Rei and Tezuka's relationship is beginning to flourish beautifully. You may have noticed their slowly developing catchphrase "Really? Really." Like it or not, it's here to stay! Also, on the strange behaviour of Rei that has come up at times- that will be developed further in later chapters! The next couple of chapters may be a bit erratic, as I am thinking about starting a few new stories:

**Lost in Your Eyes: **An AtobeOC fanfic.

**Beautifully Imperfect: **A YukimuraOC fanfic.

**Meant to Be: **A SasuSaku fanfic.

If you have any ideas or suggestions for the above stories, please feel free to message or write it in a review to me. Until next time! In the meantime, please review!


	9. Chapter Eight: Rebelling

**A/N: **Chapter Eight is finally here, and this story has reached two and a half thousand hits and over forty-five thousand words! Thank you to all of the lovely people who gave up their time to review the last chapter, especially _RockPrincess410 _and _VanillaAnime_, who both have reviewed almost every chapter so far! I really do appreciate the time you have spent in doing so, and I am so grateful! So, down to business: in this chapter, there will be more Tezuka and Rei development (of course), and maybe some Oishi and Sora (as requested). Sorry about the delay in the new chapter, but I have been paying more attention recently to my new AtobeOC story _Lost In Your Eyes_. Before I forget- I have had a request from _MatchMakerSawa-chan _to incorporate some RyoSaku- so that will be appearing in this chapter, just a little bit. Any ideas for this pairing (or the current one) are welcome!

This chapter is dedicated to _Krisia Lives To Laugh _for her wonderful message that motivated me to continue updating! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

"…so I think that increasing the number of notifications via noticeboards would be an effective move…"

Sora was bored. And when she said bored, she meant _bored_.

Student council meetings were never interesting by any standards, but still, the one she was sitting in at the moment was if possible, even more tedious than usual. Still, it was to be expected, with the upcoming Valentine's Day dance. It was still a month or so away, but the student council was already getting worked up into a frenzy about it.

Honestly, all she wanted to do was get out of the stuffy, constricted room and get back to practice.

She glanced over at Tezuka, sitting in the president's chair and nodding seriously at the publicity director's words, seemingly absorbed in the matter in front of him. Really, she needed to ask him to teach her how to stay focused- or at least look it- during meetings.

Stifling a yawn, she glanced over at Oishi, who was sitting across the table from her. He was the 'chairman of health committee'- whatever that was, Sora had absolutely no idea. But at least he didn't have to really do anything- she was treasurer, and she already knew that she would be _insanely _busy handling this whole affair.

Well, she supposed that she could deal with it later.

At that moment, just as she was taking a long sip from her bottle of water, she heard a jumble of words that almost made her spit it out into Oishi's face.

"Maybe we should do a couples competition…"

As it was, she choked, and coughed violently as she attempted to regain her breathing.

The other students were staring weirdly at her, startled by her sudden fit.

Oishi immediately fell into mother hen mode, fussing worriedly. "Igarashi-san! Are you alright? Do you need to go to the school nurse?"

She waved a dismissive hand at him, regaining some of her composure. "I'm fine, just choked for a bit there."

Oishi still seemed to be pretty worried, but he heeded her words and didn't bring it up again. Tezuka turned back to the publicity director, attention fully focused on the issue at hand once again.

"Explain."

The third-year hurried to comply. "Ah, I was thinking that if we did something more memorable for this year's Valentine's Day besides the usual dance…that we could raise more money from the fundraiser?"

Sora was immediately against the idea. There weren't even that many couples in the school, for god's sake! She could only think of one in her class, and she was sure that her class wasn't the only one with so few.

In her opinion at least, the venture was doomed for failure before it even started.

But Tezuka didn't seem to share the same opinion as her. Rather, he seemed to be considering it thoughtfully, hands clasped and chin leaning on them as he looked at the papers in front of him, and then back up at the publicity director.

_Please say no, _Sora willed him. _Please just say no_.

"Are you willing to take up responsibility for this venture?"

Sora resisted the urge to smack herself in the face with frustration, instead settling for an exasperated and resigned sigh. In Tezuka language, _are you willing _basically meant a yes.

The boy standing nodded fervently, eyes already wide with hope. "Yes, I am perfectly fine with taking full responsibility for this project! With the assistance of a few volunteers, I am sure that we can make this one of the most unforgettable celebrations ever!"

Sora rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. Really, who was so hyped up about _Valentine's Day_, out of all things?

Certainly not her.

But Tezuka seemed to approve- he nodded and adjusted his glasses again, unclasping his fingers and straightening up. "Alright, you may proceed with your idea, and a few members of the student council will help you with the organization of the event you are planning."

Collectively, at the president's words, the entire student council stiffened in their seats, and suddenly looked wide awake. Gone were the yawns and sleepy looks- every student was praying to not be chosen. No one wanted to give up their precious time to organize this kind of event.

As the publicity director chose a few students, all of them acquiesced with a grumble or groan, and a disgruntled look. Sora closed her eyes, praying for her salvation.

_Please don't choose me, please don't choose me…_

"Ah, Igarashi-san!" The publicity director cheerfully exclaimed. "You're the treasurer, right? We'll need you to handle all of the financial details!"

Heads swivelled to stare at her. The seconds ticked by as everything remained silent. Oishi was beginning to look worried, and even Tezuka himself had glanced up to see what was taking Sora so long to reply.

"Igarashi-san?"

"…Damn it."

* * *

Rei was practising her shooting again, standing behind the three-point line with a big cage of basketballs sitting next to her. Most of the second-string players, as well as Yuki and Shizuka, were sitting- or in Shizuka's case, lying- in the stands, drinking and watching Rei shoot.

"Nice one, Rei-senpai!" Shizuka called out as another ball fell through the hoop, again without touching it. "At this rate, you're going to flatten everyone we play!"

Rei smiled at Shizuka's comment, and picked up another ball, lifting it into a shooting form again. Just as the ball was poised to leave her hands, Rei's eyes sharpened and darted sideways to see a blur appearing in front of her. She was too late to stop the ball leaving her hands, but she spontaneously let herself fall backwards and released the ball higher than she would have.

A familiar head of red hair had appeared in front of her, and Rei saw the ball scrape the top of outstretched fingertips, before continuing on its trajectory.

She just watched as the ball flew through the air, going higher than she had planned. A frown was on her face, as she watched.

The ball hit the rim of the hoop, balanced indecisively for a second, before rolling around and into the basket.

Only then did she turn to face Akira, who was standing in front of her with an uncharacteristic spark in her eyes.

"Hey, Rei-senpai. Play one-on-one with me."

* * *

Oishi was walking next to Sora as they exited the student council room, talking to her friendlily. "So, Igarashi-san, what do you intend on doing for the new Valentine's Day initiative?"

The blonde sighed in exasperation, and out of habit, pushed her glasses up her nose again. "Please don't mention it- I don't even want to hear the name of the day. Who in the world does a _couples _event for Valentine's Day…ugh…"

Oishi looked like he didn't know what to say, and he put his hand on the back of his head nervously, with a sheepish expression on his face. "Y-yeah…Kagawa-san is very…original with his ideas…"

Sora resisted the urge to scoff. Oishi was really far too kind- _original _didn't even begin to cut it. But she didn't say anything because she could see he was already embarrassed enough, his cheeks pink and eyes averted.

Instead, she leaned against the wall, causing Oishi to stop and backtrack, almost walking past her. "Ah, Igarashi-san? You're not going to go to practice?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am, but aren't you going to wait for Tezuka-san?"

"A-ah, yes-but you…" Oishi trailed off, touched by her blunt way of expressing care. Sora acted like she didn't care a lot of the time, but in her own way, she did.

At that moment, Tezuka walked out of the student council room, carefully locking the door behind him. In his arms was a folder of papers, and Sora shuddered just to think about the amount of paperwork that being president must entail. Hell, she was only treasurer, and she was barely managing the workload with her basketball responsibilities and schoolwork.

He walked up to them, nodding curtly at Sora and Oishi. Sora returned the gesture, while Oishi smiled at his friend. "Ah, Tezuka, shall we go to tennis practice now?"

"Aa."

Sora glanced at her watch, and frowned. Practice was already nearly over- the meeting had taken longer than originally planned. The tennis courts were a lot further away from the main building than the basketball courts were.

"Are you two actually going to make it in time? You only have fifteen minutes or so to get down there, and by the time you do, practice will already be nearly over."

She had a point. Oishi glanced at Tezuka, unsure of what to do. "Well, that's true, but we don't have anything else to do, and we might as well check on our team…"

"You can always just come and watch our practice, you know."

"R-really? Are you sure we wouldn't be a bother?"

Sora almost burst out into a laugh at Oishi's worrying. Really, he acted so much like a mother hen at times. Completely different to Tezuka, who just stood there without any sort of change to his expression.

"I'm sure. Besides, don't you want to watch us?" Sora couldn't resist teasing Oishi a bit- he was just so naïvely cute, and…_fun _in a weird way.

He flushed an even darker pink at this. "Ah, no, it's not like that! I just mean-" He stopped at Sora's laugh. She looked at him with humour in her normally serious eyes. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Meanwhile, Tezuka was weighing up his options. Sora was right- by the time he and Oishi walked down to the tennis courts, practice would already be over, or nearly so. And he was slightly interested in seeing how Rei was practising.

He glanced up to see Sora and Oishi staring expectantly at him. "So, are you coming or not?"

Well, he supposed there was nothing wrong with spending ten or fifteen minutes watching their practice. After all, perhaps he could get some new ideas for physical training for the tennis regulars. The basketball players trained even harder than they did, and that was saying something.

"…Hn."

Sora nodded briskly, and began walking off in the direction of the courts. "Well, let's get going then. We don't have time to waste."

* * *

Sweat was pouring off both girls as they relentlessly moved around the court, one determined to stop the other at all costs, and the other bent on breaking through.

Sora walked over to the players' bench next to the court, and gestured for the two boys, who were standing uncertainly in the doorway, to sit next to her. "Come on, this is a sight you may never see again in your lifetime."

As they took their seats, Sora was watching the one-on-one intently, eyes focused and hard through her glasses. "You two are lucky. It's not often that you see Rei and Akira going full out on each other."

As Tezuka watched the unfolding game in front of his eyes, he couldn't but help thinking that she was right.

It appeared that neither girl had scored yet- both of them were locked in a stalemate on the court, unable to get past each other. Rei had the ball, and she was spinning in a complicated series of pivots and feints that left even Tezuka dizzy. But Akira was no fool- she was matching her vice-captain step for step, staying in front of her at all times.

Oishi seemed like he was just as astonished as he was. "Sugoi…are these two really just in high school? This seems almost like a professional game…"

Sora nodded. "Out of the entire team, Rei and Akira are the two with the most talent in basketball." When the two looked at her questioningly, she explained further. "See, I may be the best player at the moment, in terms of play, but everything I do is planned out and strategized. I don't have the talent that those two do." She pointed at the two on court.

"But Igarashi-san, surely you could play at least evenly with either of them in a one-on-one like this?"

"Yeah, I probably could, but that's only because both of them _suck _at strategy." Tezuka's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. "You'll see what I mean."

As Sora watched the relentless showdown between the vice-captain and the ace, she smiled humourlessly. "When it comes down to talent, no one even comes close to Rei or Akira."

As the three of them watched, the battle between the two intensified even more. Both of them were incredibly focused- Tezuka had never seen such intensity and concentration in any sort of sport before. It was terrifying just to watch.

Sparks seemed to fly as the two of them spun and sprinted around the court, each trying to out-manoeuvre the other. It was Akira who had the ball this time, and she was making straight for the basket, intent on slam dunking it in.

Out of nowhere, Rei appeared in front of her, skidding on the court so quickly that the onlookers almost saw sparks flying from her feet. Akira pivoted on her left foot, only to find Rei had stolen the ball and was already making a fast break towards the other end.

The second-year gritted her teeth as she forced her legs into motion, quickly catching up. "You won't beat me this time, Rei-senpai!"

Rei smiled through her heavy breaths as she spun in a sequence of footwork so complicated that Akira was hard-pressed to remain in front of her. "We'll see."

Akira did not like the sound of that. Rei only ever said that when she had something up her sleeve, a trump card just waiting to be played.

Still neither had scored yet- the tension was beginning to grate harshly on both of them.

Suddenly, Rei had this _glint _in her eyes- Akira did _not _like the look of it. Meanwhile, sitting on the sidelines, Sora saw it too- she leant forward in anticipation. "It seems that Rei's going to bring out her new move earlier than I expected."

Before either of the two tennis regulars sitting on the bench beside her could ask what she was talking about, gasps of shock could be heard from the onlookers sitting in the stands as Rei suddenly lifted her hands into a shooting position. Akira reacted quickly, she jumped as high as she could, trying desperately to stop the shot.

But…there wasn't a shot to block.

Akira looked down in dawning horror as she saw Rei bend her knees and jump into the air, ball poised for a shot.

Try as hard as she might, she was already falling, having jumped too early because she had fallen for the feint. As she made eye contact with Rei, the golden eyes widened, the green narrowed in concentration.

Rei smiled, and as she released the shot, she whispered, just loud enough for Akira to hear, "_Shinkiro*. _One." And she shot the ball.

Akira summoned all the energy she had left, and made a mad sprint for the basket. One thing that worked in her advantage was that Rei's shot was a slow one- it was flying in a high, slow arc. She tensed her leg muscles, and jumped as high as she could, attempting to stop the ball from reaching the hoop.

Everyone watched in awe as the second-year reached towards the ball. "She's going to stop it…!"

But the onlooker was wrong. Just as Akira's hand seemed as though it was about to make contact with the ball, it blurred, and disappeared. "What?!"

As Akira flailed wildly, trying to make contact with a ball that she couldn't see anymore, it reappeared, just behind her hand. And fell into the hoop without even touching it.

Silence filled the gymnasium. All the students watching were too stunned to speak. Akira had landed on her knees, panting heavily and wiping perspiration from her eyes as she stared in shock at her vice-captain. And Rei?

Rei was just standing there, staring at her hands. Murmurs quickly arose, and within the span of a few seconds, everyone was almost _yelling _their amazement at the sight.

The three sitting on the bench didn't join in- mainly because Sora had an _I-told-you-so _look on her face, Oishi had his mouth open, eyes wide in shock, and Tezuka- well, he was shocked too, but his poker face stopped him from saying anything.

The blonde girl adjusted her glasses again, looking just the tiniest bit smug. "Well, what did I tell you?"

* * *

In the end, Rei won the one-on-one, five baskets to two. Akira was almost too tired to stand- she was bending over, hands on knees and head down as she struggled to regain her breath. Rei was not much better- sweat drenched her forehead as her breathing came out in shallow hitches.

As soon as she was able to stop gasping for air, Rei walked over to Akira, and touched her on the shoulder. She had always liked Akira- had always supported her when others had criticised her. "Hey. It was a good game."

"Yeah," the other girl managed to get out between breaths. "Let's play again sometime."

"Yeah." The two of them just stood there, completely drained and exhausted. Sora jogged over, still in her school uniform. "That was good play from both of you. Keep playing like that and we've already won Nationals."

"Are you kidding me? Just _good_? Buchou, how hard do we have to play before you admit that game was damn _awesome_?"

Sora huffed an impatient, but indulgent sigh. "Fine, it was _awesome, _as you say."

Rei laughed, and as she looked around, she caught sight of Tezuka, standing in front of the bench with Oishi. Her eyes brightened, and she jogged over slowly, smiling at him with that lopsided smile that he had become so familiar with. "Tezuka-san! I didn't think you'd be watching!"

Tezuka inclined his head in response, and said, "We came from student council. Igarashi-san invited us to come and watch your practice."

Rei looked surprised. "So you skipped your practice to watch ours?"

"Aa." _It was worth it_, were the unspoken words. Rei seemed to understand, because her smile widened that tiny bit more.

Sora, standing over with Akira, saw it, and her face softened ever so slightly. It wasn't often she saw Rei so happy, and she was glad to see it. Akira saw it too, but her face became inscrutable, and her only visible eye watched her vice-captain laugh with Tezuka with an unreadable look.

Neither of the two in question noticed. Rei was asking Oishi a question about student council, and Tezuka was just watching her silently with that poker face of his, no expression visible. But there was something different about his mouth- perhaps it was the set of the jaw?

No, Sora decided, it was because there was something resembling a smile- well, as close to a smile as Tezuka could get- hovering on the edge of his lips.

She wasn't really a fan of romance, but even she had to admit- the two would make a great couple if they got together. But knowing Tezuka, it would take the sky falling down to make him realize any sort of romantic connection.

Still, she decided, it was all in good time. She wouldn't interfere- Rei wouldn't appreciate it if she did, and she didn't even know if Rei _knew _yet- but she would watch. For now.

Rei had already had too much trouble in her life, and Sora knew better than to create more for her. No, she would let things follow their course, and she just hoped that Rei would be happier for it.

As she watched, Rei began asking Oishi and Tezuka about the upcoming event for Valentine's Day, which had been much discussed in school.

"Is it something fun this year?"

Oishi laughed nervously, and scratched the back of his head. "Well, sort of, but it's still a new idea, and it may not work out…"

Tezuka's only reply was, "Hn."

"What is it? _Please _don't tell me it's anything like last year…" Rei shuddered at the memory of Valentine's Day last year. The then publicity director had chosen to do a _confession competition_- the day had been chaotic and completely topsy-turvy.

Confessions had been declared everywhere, _literally_- in class, over the PA system- hell, one boy had even hired a _band _to play while he confessed.

Both tennis regulars remembered the day clearly. As the event had been for both boys and girls, both of them, especially Tezuka, had been subjected to countless love confessions from starry-eyed girls.

Never again.

"No…I don't think it'll be like last year's…"

"So what is it this year?"

"Well, I'm not really supposed to tell anyone outside of student council…"

Rei opened her eyes as wide as she could, and pouted. Oishi flushed again, looking nervous. "Please, can you tell me? I won't tell anyone…"

"Um…i-it's a couples competition!"

Rei sweatdropped, and muttered underneath her breath, "Don't see how that's any better…"

Sora walked up behind her, having heard the topic of their conversation. "Well, save the complaints, Rei, you're not the one being forced to participate in the set-up."

"Wait, _you _have to help organize a _couples _event?"

A lifted eyebrow from the blonde captain. "That's what I just said. You got a problem with that?"

"…no, no…"

Sora turned to Oishi and Tezuka. "The problem is that we have to organize authorisation for the evidence part- the school won't just allow students to take photos of others without their consent…"

Tezuka nodded. "I believe Kagawa-san is already handling that."

Rei looked between them, becoming suspicious. "Wait…isn't this just a competition for couples?"

All three averted their eyes. "Yeah…"

"Then what was that about photos?"

"…it's a secret."

"Hey, Rei-senpai, come over here!" At Shizuka's call, Rei turned and then jogged over, casting a backwards wave at the three. "Talk to you later! See you, blondie!"

Sora laughed, and called out, "Same to you, midget!" before turning back to the two boys. "About the event, now that Rei's not listening, do you think anyone will actually participate? I mean, it's a lot of trouble to go to…"

Oishi nodded. "I think that people will be interested, it's a new idea, after all."

"Do you actually know _anyone _who wants to take pictures of other couples? I don't."

The two boys looked at each other for a moment, before saying simultaneously, "…Fuji."

Out on the tennis courts, as he was about to head home, a certain tensai stifled a sneeze behind a covert hand, and glanced suspiciously towards the gymnasium.

* * *

As Rei and Tezuka headed home, there was a flow of idle, relaxed chatter between them- at least on Rei's side. Tezuka mainly just nodded and replied to her questions.

They hadn't actually planned to walk home together. It had just happened- she had been coming out of the locker room, and he had happened to be just walking by after talking to Oishi about tennis- and they found themselves walking out of the school together.

"Has your draw been decided for the Kantou tournament yet?"

Tezuka shook his head. "The official draw will be finalised at the end of the week."

Rei nodded, smile on her face. "Yeah, Sora and I have to go to our one tomorrow. I hope our opponent for the first few rounds are easy- I don't want to give up our dream of winning Nationals so quickly!"

He knew what the feeling was like. "Aa."

"Hey, isn't that rich school in the tournament as well? What's its name, Hyotei?"

"Yes, Hyotei is in our region."

"Wouldn't it be bad luck if you drew them for the first round? Both of your schools are among the best in Tokyo, right?"

Tezuka felt a cold feeling come over him. He hadn't allowed himself to think of that possibility until now, but the suddenly very real threat of Hyotei seemed very close indeed- and with it, Atobe.

He wondered how much the narcissistic Hyotei captain had improved since they last met. He could only hope that he had improved more. He involuntarily put his hand on his left arm. Of course, Rei noticed.

"What's wrong? Is your arm hurt?"

"No," he answered reflexively. "I'm fine."

She frowned slightly, but seemed to accept his answer. "Don't strain yourself too much- I want to watch you play before you get yourself injured!"

Tezuka felt the corners of his mouth tilt upwards fractionally- Rei's light-hearted manner was very infectious. She always surprised him- when they talked, he was increasingly often finding a ghost of a smile on his face, or his answers growing longer without his noticing.

His guard was beginning to come down more.

_Don't let your guard down_, he told himself sternly, but he couldn't resist the faint, fleeting smile at Rei's lopsided one.

"You can come and watch our match with Hyotei, if you like."

Her green eyes widened, and her smile grew. "Really?"

This time, there was no hesitation before he replied to her question. "Really."

* * *

Ryoma hadn't intended on staying in school any longer than was absolutely essential- he had already had too much trouble being around his senpais. As soon as practice was over, he took advantage of both Tezuka and Oishi's absence and tried to surreptitiously walk away before anyone noticed.

Of course, Ryuzaki-sensei noticed. "Hey, Echizen! Where do you think you're going?"

He groaned internally, but turned around and with his usual air of indifference, muttered, "Going home, obviously."

Momoshiro was on him at once. "Hey, Echizen, that's bad team spirit! We've got to spend some time together bonding as a team! Talk more to your teammates for once!"

"Yadda."

"Oi, that's no way to talk to your senpai!"

"Yadda."

But still, he eventually capitulated, allowing Momoshiro to drag him over to the rest of the team, where Kikumaru immediately glomped him. "Ochibi can be so mean, sometimes, nya!"

"Hey, Eiji-senpai! Let go of me!"

Ryuzaki-sensei ignored the squabbling between the boys, and started talking. "Alright, the draw for the Kantou tournament will be decided on Friday. Tezuka and Oishi will be attending the official drawing of the lot. The rest of us will stay here and practise in preparation, alright?"

"Hai, Ryuzaki-sensei!"

"We must be prepared for any opponent if we are to achieve our goal of winning Nationals, so if I hear that any of you have been slacking off…" Her voice trailed off threateningly, and all of the tennis regulars swallowed and nodded.

"We won't let you down, sensei!"

She smiled. "Good! Then you are dismissed for today. Be careful when walking home."

Momoshiro was already heading off. "Don't worry, old lady, we're old enough to handle ourselves now. Don't fret yourself!"

"Why, you!"

Meanwhile, Sakuno, standing outside the fence, had approached Ryoma with a shy smile on her face. "Um…r-r-Ryoma-kun…"

He looked at her with his usual expression of boredom. "Yes? What is it?"

She swallowed nervously. "Um…I was w-wondering if y-you- I mean, only if you w-wanted to…"

He sighed impatiently. "Spit it out, Ryuzaki."

She nodded frantically in panic. "G-gomen! I d-didn't mean to w-waste your time-"

Meanwhile, Momoshiro had picked up his bag, had stood up again, rubbing his growling stomach. "Man, I'm starving!"

The second-year regular looked around for their freshman player. "Hey, Echizen, let's go get burgers ag-" He caught sight of Ryoma talking with Sakuno, and he immediately forgot about the burgers, his face split into a wide grin. "Oh. _Oh. _I see what's going on here."

Fuji and Kikumaru approached, the red-haired boy jumping around excitedly, and the tensai with his customary smile of innocence in place. "Nya, Momo! Do you want to go follow Ochibi and Ryuzaki-chan?"

Fuji added sadistically, "It'll be fun."

Momoshiro nodded his agreement, and the three of them set off after the two freshmen, who were already heading towards the gates together.

Ryoma was asking Sakuno, "Hey, Ryuzaki, why do you want to play tennis?"

She flushed red immediately, stuttering her way through an answer. "W-w-well, I want to j-join the t-team, but Obaa-san s-said I'm not good e-enough yet…"

She looked hopefully at the boy through her eyelashes. "I was h-hoping that you could h-help me, r-r-Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma sighed in exasperation. The way she stammered around him was so irritating at times. She couldn't even get out his name without stumbling at least twice.

"Mada mada dane."

As they exited the gates, Momoshiro, following them closely with Fuji and Kikumaru, hissed, "Echizen, what did I teach you? You don't talk to girls like that, baka!"

"Hey Momo, be quieter! They'll hear you!"

Sakuno looked down, suddenly ashamed of herself for even asking Ryoma for help. She should have known that he wouldn't want to help someone as bad as her. "N-never mind then, you d-don't have to help m-me…"

All he did was take her old pink racket from her. "You need to get a new racket, first of all. Your strings are almost worn out."

A rosy blush spread across her cheeks. "H-hai!"

Fuji had his camera out, snapping pictures of them as the three regulars trailed after the two freshmen.

As Ryoma and Sakuno entered the sports equipment store, they headed straight for the rackets. The freshman regular expertly looked at a few rackets, before pointing one out to Sakuno. "Next time you come here, buy that one."

She nodded, long pigtails bobbing up and down. "Of c-course! I'll come here tomorrow after s-school with t-Tomo-chan!"

They headed back out, and Kikumaru jumped back in order to avoid being seen, almost knocking Momoshiro over.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry, but they almost saw me!"

Fuji just watched the two in question walking off, blue eyes open for once. "They're heading for the street tennis courts."

"Are you serious? Is all Echizen thinks about _tennis_? How's he ever going to get a girlfriend like that?"

* * *

Sakuno narrowly missed another ball as she dove, pigtails flying out behind her. She stumbled, and looked embarrassed. "I'm s-sorry…"

Hitting another ball lightly, Ryoma just called out, "Watch the ball carefully, Ryuzaki!"

She did as he said, and smiled widely when her racket connected with the ball this time around, only to gasp in shock when her shot clocked Ryoma squarely in the face.

"Ryoma-kun! Are you alright?"

Ryoma sat up, feeling slightly dizzy. It hadn't been a very powerful shot, but it was enough to make him see stars. "I'm fine…"

Sakuno was kneeling beside him, eyes huge with worry. "I'm so sorry for hitting you!"

As he glanced at her, Ryoma's eyes darted over her shoulder and narrowed. "Hey…isn't that buchou walking over there?"

Meanwhile, the three regulars hiding in the bushes had also noticed. "Hey! That's Tezuka-buchou over there!"

Kikumaru immediately stuck his head up from the bush he was hiding in. "Where? Where? I want to see!"

"There, Eiji-senpai, with a girl next to him!"

The two boys immediately scrambled to try and see, while Fuji smiled secretively and lifted his camera. "Saa…this is a _very _interesting afternoon…"

Rei and Tezuka were walking down the street side by side, talking casually as they went. She was laughing at something, and the boy was watching her with as close to a fond expression as he could get. Which was not very close.

Still, for everyone watching, it was an unbelievable change. Kikumaru pointed in shock, stuttering out, "H-hey, Tezuka is almost _smiling_…I've never seen that before!"

Momoshiro was just as shocked as his upperclassman. "_Seriously? _Isn't that Wakanari-senpai, the basketball vice-captain? Are they dating?"

The third-year gasped. "Oh my god, Tezuka actually has a _girlfriend_!" He almost burst out of the bushes and jumped onto Tezuka, but Momoshiro managed to hold him back, scuffling as he tackled him to the ground.

"Oi, Eiji-senpai, don't let them know we're here!"

Suddenly, Rei seemed to stumble over something, and she fell into Tezuka, instinctively clutching at his shirt for safety. Tezuka reflexively caught her, and he grasped her hand as he steadied her upright.

Both Kikumaru and Momoshiro's eyes widened to the point they looked like they were about to fall out of their heads. As Rei and Tezuka continued walking, their hands remained in each other's grasp for a few seconds longer, before they both seemed to realize, and pulled away. But Rei's smile never faltered, and Tezuka looked as close to happy as they had ever seen him.

"Oh. My. _God_. Oh my god. Did you just _see _that? Tezuka-buchou held her hand for more than a second!"

"I know! This is the weirdest thing I've seen in my life! Since when has _Tezuka _been nice to anyone?"

A voice spoke up from behind them. "Saa…you two sound strangely like girls gossiping." The two jumped at Fuji's voice as the tensai emerged from the bushes, looking very satisfied with himself. "Fujiko, don't startle us like that, nya!"

"And we don't sound like fangirls!"

Fuji's eyebrow lifted, and his smile widened. "I never said you did." Momoshiro and Kikumaru swallowed in fear at the sadism in his voice. "But if you're saying that you're a fangirl of Tezuka…" his voice trailed off meaningfully.

"No, no! It's not what you're thinking!"

"That sounded _very _much like a denial."

"_Fuji-senpai_! Stop with the torture already! You're turning into Oshitari from Hyotei! Stop with the romantic, sadistic hints!"

His smile turned frigid. "Do _not _compare me to that person." Out of nowhere, his smile was back to normal, and he looked down at his camera again. "Ne, I got a lot of good pictures. What to do with them…" He looked to where Rei and Tezuka were just turning the corner and the two other boys felt a shudder go up their spine.

"Well, I guess I'll think about it tonight," was his self-answer before he began walking off. He turned back to look at Momoshiro and Kikumaru standing in the bushes. "You might want to watch your backs…"

He chuckled and walked off. Before either could turn to see what he meant, something heavy hit Momoshiro on the back of the head. "OW! What was that?"

He turned to see a can of Ponta rolling on the ground, and then his eyes shifted to see Ryoma standing on the court, smirking smugly. Behind him, he saw Sakuno blushing furiously as she realized just how many people had been witness to their conversation.

"Why, you-!"

Kikumaru laughed. "Nice aim, Ochibi! Hey, Momo, don't kill me!" He tried to avoid Momoshiro's angry fists, and as they dodged around in the bushes, Momoshiro's foot caught on a root, and both of them went tumbling down in a tangle of limbs into the bushes.

Ryoma just smirked. "Mada mada dane, senpais."

* * *

**A/N: **So the chapter's finally done! *sigh of relief* And there's the awaited RyoSaku scene! Anyway, as I have mentioned before, updates may become erratic because I am working on another story, _Lost in Your Eyes _(AtobeOC) –if you haven't read it yet, please check it out- as well as trying to handle assignments for school. So bear with me, and I am thankful for all your support! Please review, and see you all next chapter!

-Just a note- I realized that many of you have been reading this story, but actually hardly any are reviewing. Can you please, _please _spare some time to drop in a few words? I am really grateful for any advice or criticism or whatever, and you have no idea how much reviews make me feel happy. To those who have been consistently reviewing- thank you so much! To those who haven't- I need the motivation to keep updating!

_*Shinkiro- _Mirage. It is the first in a series of moves, so look forward to them!


	10. Chapter Nine: Impulsive

**A/N: **Finally Chapter Nine! This story's going on a roll! Almost three and a half thousand views already and over fifty thousand words! I can't believe I've made it this far without any major problems yet! I have to thank everyone who has given their support to this story so far- you've been my inspiration to keep updating, and I love you all! Special mentions to:

_aehlta: _Yeah, I know, my romance is very cheesy. But hey, it's what the readers want, and I can't be bothered being original but disliked. Thanks for reviewing all the time anyway and putting up with my _sfjndkfnkjdfn _(I don't have a word for my writing), I really appreciate it!

_VanillaAnime: _Thank you so much! You are by far my best supporter out there! Thanks for reviewing my other story too :) Oh, and thank you for your lovely reply- it really made me so happy!

_RockPrincess410: _Your reviews always make me laugh, and my day gets so much better after reading them. Thanks! :P

_Krisia Lives to Laugh: _Thanks for all of your support, and I'm glad to see you updated your story! Keep it up :)

_TheRavenSlayer13: _Thank you very much for your review! I appreciate it! :D

_Alison Raven: _Thanks for your lovely review! :)

_Amazing123: _Whoever you are, you are the best! :)

_erp: _I'm glad you think so! Thank you so much!

_nukrat: _Thanks for your wonderful message!

And to everyone else who has been reading and supporting this story, thank you all for your time!

This chapter is dedicated to _MatchMakerSawa-chan_, for messaging me and making me feel like I am actually an awesome writer (which I'm not, but thanks anyway). Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

Smiles had always been a part of Rei's life. They were what she hid behind when she needed to, masking her pain in a cloud of fake, brilliant smiles.

In a way, you could compare it to a fake diamond, a sparkly bauble.

To an inexperienced and unfamiliar eye, it looked exactly the same. Rei always had a smile on her face, regardless of the situation she was in.

But to someone who knew, it was different. Vastly so. The difference between Rei's fake and real smiles was obvious- the real was beautiful in its imperfection, beautiful in its almost painful honesty and carefreeness.

The fake was forced, a twisted brilliance.

Every now and again in her life, the fake appeared ever more often on her face, brilliantly crafted to protect her from the pity and whispers of others.

But now, as Rei walked with Tezuka, it seemed to only be a shadow from her past, something that she was finally beginning to forget.

They weren't talking about anything important. Actually, they were talking about the most trivial of things- what the homework was, about the upcoming Kantou tournament- but the feeling was still there.

"So is all the homework for maths just the first two pages of the worksheet?"

"Yes. But not the last question- sensei said to leave that one for class tomorrow."

Rei sighed and hit herself in the face with the paper in exasperation. "Great, I'm going to have to spend at least half an hour on this stupid maths homework- why tonight out of all nights?"

Tezuka's curiosity was awakened. "Why tonight in particular?"

"Ah, I have to drag Sora out dress shopping tonight." When he just looked at her confusedly, she elaborated. "You know, for the upcoming Valentine's Day dance? Yeah, normally I wouldn't bother, but Sora has _such _a letdown fashion sense, so I have to take her with me."

"Aa." He didn't know really what else to say. This was _not _a topic with which he was in the least comfortable.

Luckily, Rei just kept talking. "I heard from Yuki that we have to find partners for the dance- what a drag. It's going to be _so _hard to find someone who's willing to go with me…" she sighed.

"Is that true?" Tezuka suddenly had a very bad feeling about the dance. He hadn't heard the publicity director say it was to be partnered- maybe he had just been zoning out. Still, if it was true, he would not have a good day at school tomorrow, what with all the fangirls that would be swamping him.

Rei nodded in answer to his question. "Yeah, Yuki's younger sister is on the student council, and she told her."

That explained it. The tennis captain internally shuddered to think of the mayhem that would ensue tomorrow- hell, he would probably have to hire a full group of _bodyguards _if he wanted to keep the fangirls away from him.

He sighed silently, adjusting his glasses again. It couldn't be helped- he would just have to think of a solution sometime before the next day.

He vaguely registered that Rei had stopped, and he realized that they had reached her apartment. She smiled brightly at him with that crazily tilted smile, and said, "Well, see you tomorrow, Tezuka-san? After I come back from the official draw, of course."

He hadn't remembered that. "Aa. See you after that."

She smiled even wider, before putting a hand on the door handle. She suddenly frowned, and looked down at her feet, before bending down and picking up a white object that Tezuka recognized to be an envelope.

She seemed to already know what it was. Her smile became slightly forced, and she glanced up at him. "Ah, Tezuka-san, you don't have to wait for me. I know you have to get home, and it's getting dark."

Tezuka knew she was right. "I'll be going then."

She waved absently at him, and as he walked back out onto the street and looked over his shoulder, he saw her slowly opening the envelope and pushing the door open with her back. The door shut behind her, and he was left alone on the darkening street.

* * *

Ryoma was not very pleased.

After finding out that his senpais had been eavesdropping on his practice with Sakuno, he had proceeded to realize that the bruise from Sakuno's shot on his forehead wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

It was incredibly irritating.

As he silently walked beside the pigtailed girl, his thoughts wandered to the improvement she had been making in her tennis skills. He could see that she had a lot of potential, and a strange _feel _for the ball, even if she didn't know it herself.

"Um, r-Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma glanced up from beneath his cap to look at the furiously blushing Sakuno. He didn't understand why she was always so red and…_shy _around him. What was there to be so embarrassed about?

"What?"

She blushed even more, until her face looked as though it was about to overheat. "Um, you k-know about the d-dance…"

"I'm not going." As if _he _was going to waste his precious time going to such a useless thing. Ryoma had never been one for social events, and he was not about to start now. He couldn't believe that Tezuka had been the one to approve it. Talk about weird.

Sakuno looked down in a queer mixture of disappointment and shame. She should have known that Ryoma wouldn't want to go to such a thing. "Ah…never m-mind then…"

They walked in silence for a while, before Ryoma suddenly looked up. "Hey, Ryuzaki."

"Y-yes?"

"What were you going to ask?"

She turned crimson again. "A-ah…that is- I was going to-"

Ryoma sighed impatiently, and tapped his racket on his shoulder as he walked. Out of nowhere, Sakuno stopped, and he turned in surprise to look at her.

"P-please go to the d-dance w-with me!"

"…" It was definitely not what he was expecting. But he couldn't deny that it made him feel sort of good.

Sakuno felt _so _mortified. She had just asked Ryoma to go to a stupid dance that he clearly didn't even want to go to! What was she thinking? Just as she was about to apologize for bothering him, he spoke up.

"Fine."

"I'm so sor- what? R-really?" Hope was beginning to flood her eyes, and Ryoma found himself smiling slightly in spite of his dislike of dances.

"Yeah, why not."

A shy but ecstatic smile spread across Sakuno's face, and she was by now flushed a rosy red, almost the colour of his racket. "T-thank you so much!"

He smirked and pulled his cap down a bit lower over his eyes, before starting to walk again, leaving a flustered Sakuno behind. "Mada mada dane."

"r-Ryoma-kun! H-how was that _mada mada dane_?"

* * *

Bored was the only word that could describe how Sora was feeling in that moment. There wasn't really any other word that could cover it.

As she watched Rei shunt through a rack of dresses, examining the different choices. She failed to hide a stifled yawn behind the back of her hand, and of course, Rei noticed. "Sora, aren't you going to come and look?"

"What makes you think I'm interested?"

The dark haired girl pouted. "Come on! Don't you _want _to go to the dance with a boy?"

Sora _hmph_ed. "Excuse me, who do you take me for?"

Rei smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I guess I forgot. But still, what if Oishi asks you out?"

The blonde girl did a double take, eyes wide behind her glasses. "What was that about Oishi?"

The other girl momentarily stopped shuffling through the rack and looked a bit surprised and guilty. "You don't _know _yet?"

"What?"

When her friend didn't say anything, but just looked guilty, Sora narrowed her eyes in growing suspicion. Rei _never _just shut up like that. "Rei…what were you about to say?"

"Nothing, nothing!" As Rei frantically shook her head, trying to cover up her slip-up, she immediately sought for the nearest distraction. "H-hey, look at this dress!" She seized the first one her hand touched, which happened to be a frilly pink, floor-length one. "I think it really suits you!"

"…" A lifted eyebrow, a narrowed pair of eyes. "Rei, _look _at it."

Rei did as she was told and immediately realized her mistake when she saw the dress. As hastily as she could, she hung it back into its place, and shrugged with a guilty smile. "Oops?"

Sora decided to let it slip just this once. "Yeah, that about sums it up." She rolled her eyes and smirked at her best friend.

But still, she allowed herself to be dragged into examining the outfits with Rei- into a world where _"Do you like the black?" _or _"Knee-length or ankle?" _or _"Do you think that the white heels or the red flats match this dress more?" _made all the difference in what lay ahead.

* * *

Noise, noise and more noise. That was all Tezuka could hear, ringing in his ears as he tried uselessly to concentrate on the textbook in front of him.

"Tezuka-kuunn! Please go to the dance with me!"

"He's not going to go with an ugly _b***h _like you! Back off, he's mine!"

"No, he's going with _me_, aren't you, Tezuka-kun?"

He massaged his temples tenderly, wishing that the class would end so that he could escape. But he realized that that wasn't really going to help matters.

"Ne, Tezuka?"

He looked up at the sound of his name to see Fuji making his way through the crowd towards him, bringing with him a trail of adoring girls- and boys- as he fixed his closed eyes and angelic smile on Tezuka.

Normally, he would have suspected an ulterior motive- but drastic cases called for drastic solutions, and Tezuka was not about to ignore a way out from the noise of the classroom. He quickly got up, and nodding to Fuji, headed outside of the classroom.

As he turned around in the hallway, the tensai followed him, and closed the door quickly and firmly behind him, shutting most of the desperate fangirls inside.

"So, Tezuka, I see you have already found out the true extent of your popularity…"

"Hn." Tezuka's monosyllabic reply was even more brief and curt than usual, because of a few things in particular. First among them was clearly the crowd of fangirls almost blasting his ears off with their screaming. That had already ruined his day from the minute he stepped foot inside the school gates.

But the second was the empty seat in the back row that had been irritating him all day. Rei, as he already knew, was absent for the official draw of the Kantou basketball tournament- she wouldn't be back in school until just before lunch. That he could put up with- but every time he tried to find an excuse to get away from his fangirls, the option of going to talk to her was no longer there.

Of course, he didn't realize the danger he would be putting her in if he _had _done that while she was there in the presence of his many fangirls.

But what he didn't know didn't hurt him, at least in theory. But it had been stuck in the back of his mind for the entire day, and he didn't know how to get it out.

"Are they all bent on getting you to go to the dance with them?"

"Aa." Tezuka found himself nodding an affirmative to Fuji's question, which made the smile on the tensai's face grow wider.

"Tezuka, I'm quite disappointed in you. Have you _still _not found a solution to your very irritating problem yet?"

Tezuka could feel the corner of his eye wanting to twitch, and he tensed his shoulders at Fuji's comment. It was so _annoying_, how in control of every situation Fuji was.

At the other boy's silence, Fuji smiled wider again. "Really, Tezuka, don't you ever think about a better way to get out of troublesome situations than just ignoring the problem and pulling out your poker face?"

"…"

Fuji shook his head. "Your silence wounds me. Would you like me to explain in further detail, or shall I just go away and leave you to your doom?"

Tezuka was _incredibly _tempted to take the latter choice- but he was not pleased about his current situation, and even Fuji's sadism was a better option than being mauled by fangirls.

"…explain."

The tensai looked pleased. "Saa, I knew you would come around eventually. You know, Tezuka, you are really stubborn at times…"

"Fuji."

"Hai, hai," he chuckled. "Well, shall I tell you how I solved the problem?" When Tezuka just remained silent, he took that as an affirmative. "_I_ asked someone to go with me to the dance."

"…" For once, Tezuka was unable to speak- how was _that _supposed to make things better? Fuji had gone insane- asking one of the girls to the dance would just drive his fangirls even _more _crazy.

But the tensai seemed to know what he was thinking. "It's not as bad as you think, Tezuka. Think about it- your fangirls will eventually back off once they know you're taken-" he noticed Tezuka visibly _stiffen _at this, "-and you will be left in peace. Everyone's happy- well, except maybe your fangirls, but still, you get my point."

Tezuka was starting to see Fuji's point. "I don't have anyone to ask."

Fuji could almost _smell _his victory. "But isn't Wakanari in your class?" His smile became cryptic. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind going with you to the dance- and she's not a fangirl…" His voice trailed off suggestively.

The other boy was really considering it. Of course, he didn't _want _to go to the dance, but as student council president, people would expect him to turn up. And Rei was the only girl he felt comfortable enough with to ask her to be his partner.

Tezuka decided, then and there, that he _hated _dances.

"Hn."

With that, the conversation was finished. Fuji knew better than to push Tezuka any more at that point- although he was already plotting to tease his friend some more later on.

"Just think about it, Tezuka."

Tezuka had already opened the classroom door, and with a barely discernable nod of the head to Fuji, he headed back in.

* * *

"….and so we welcome all of the schools here today…"

Rei stifled a yawn behind her hand as she watched the opening ceremony with a bored eye. She really didn't see why she had to turn up- wasn't Sora enough to pull out a measly piece of paper from a box? It's not like she was going to actually _do _anything anyway- the entire procedure was, in her opinion, a waste of time that could be used doing something else.

But Sora had been adamant- she _had _to go and represent Seigaku as the vice-captain. She had been clear about it- there was no choice in the matter.

So Rei had found herself slouched in her chair, counting the minutes until the ceremony was over. Beside her, Sora sat ramrod straight in her seat, listening attentively and with perfect uniform.

But there was one good thing that came out of coming- Rei could see the competition they would potentially face in the Kantou tournament.

"…and now, we will commence the official draw!"

As the schools were called up one by one, Rei watched the captains and vice-captains carefully through half-closed eyes, feigning drowsiness. She didn't want to look like she was interested in other teams- that was just not her.

She saw Hyotei, which was a relatively good team seeded third, draw the number 13, and she mentally made a note to try to pick a number that was nowhere near that. But it wasn't like it would help- she had the worst luck in the world.

The second seeded Fukuoka Daiichi were called- their captain and vice-captain were both well-known and dangerous players. Rei had heard of both.

Ikeda Setsuna, captain. She was a point guard like Sora, and she was definitely the most fierce looking person that Rei had ever seen. She was tiny- probably smaller than Shizuka, who stood at one hundred and sixty-five centimetres in contrast to Rei's one hundred and seventy-one- but the aggressive look on her face more than made up for her lack of height.

Her vice-captain was Akita Harumi, a power forward. She was easily almost as tall as Yuki- in fact, she could even be the same height. Rei felt a tinge of concern as she watched- Fukuoka Daiichi could be trouble.

Setsuna, with an indifferent scowl, pulled out a number, muttering, "Tch, this is such a _drag_" as she did so. All of the watching teams collectively leaned forward as a whole, hoping that Fukuoka's number was as far away from theirs as possible.

"Number two, Fukuoka Daiichi!"

The captain who had drawn the number one for her team gasped in shock, and she turned absolutely _white _in the face. Her vice-captain, sitting next to her, looked positively _sick _as she excused herself hurriedly and _ran _to the bathroom.

Sora's thoughtful frown deepened, and she crossed her arms. Hopefully, they would pick a number on the opposite end of the draw.

"First seed, Seishun Gakuen!"

"Come on, we're up," Sora rapped Rei on the side of her head with her knuckles as she stood up, and strode out to the aisle. Rei followed, rubbing her head ruefully.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard."

Sora just clicked her tongue impatiently. When Rei joined her, they proceeded to walk down the aisle of stairs to the raised platform. Murmurs filled the room as the other schools eyed them warily.

"Hey, I heard those two are both Nationally-ranked…"

"No way! They're both so small!" Rei's eye twitched at that one.

"Seigaku's seeded first…"

"Yeah, they made it as runner-up at Nationals last year…"

"…who to?"

"Didn't you hear…?"

Rei did not appreciate the comments she was overhearing, but a sharp nudge from Sora reminded her that she needed to maintain their image in front of other schools.

As they reached the box with the numbers, the announcer gestured for them to pull a number out. Rei looked on nervously as Sora slowly slipped her hand in and reached for a number.

Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed upon them- Rei could feel them burning into her from all around the room. Even Setsuna and Harumi, the famed duo, were watching them carefully and meditatively.

Sora finally withdrew her hand, a small slip of paper clutched between her fingers. Slowly unfolding it, the blonde captain wore an inscrutable expression as she read the number.

Everyone in the room was silent, the tension rising as they watched Sora's face for a hint of a reaction. Rei was feeling more and more jittery as Sora leaned across and handed the paper to the announcer.

"Number eleven, Seishun Gakuen!"

* * *

"Man, I can't believe we might have to play Hyotei in the second round," complained Rei, as they headed back to school.

Sora nodded. "We'll just have to practise and hope for the best. There's no reason we can't beat them- we're seeded higher and have a better team."

"I guess…at least we're on the other side of the draw to Fukuoka Daiichi. If we got _them_…"

The blonde agreed with her friend wholeheartedly. Both Setsuna and Harumi were excellent players, as she would know from past experiences, and there was no doubt that their team was just as good.

"No use thinking about it now," she said briskly as she walked towards the gates of the school. "We'll just have to manage."

As the two girls walked back into the school building, the sound of their echoing footsteps seemed unnaturally loud to Rei. She wasn't used to seeing the hallways empty like this- she winced at every sound that was magnified.

As the two girls headed towards their respective classes, Rei passed by a noticeboard on which a bright, _horrifically _pink poster was tacked. She stopped temporarily to have a look, realizing it was for the Valentine's Day dance.

Now that she was thinking about it, she didn't actually have anyone to go with. Of course, a few boys had come up to her hopefully, but she had apologized without thinking, saying that she was sorry, but she couldn't go with them.

But the day was drawing closer- and she didn't really want to go alone when all her friends probably had partners already.

She smiled secretively as she thought of Sora and Oishi- they might not have noticed, but _she _had seen the more than frequent blushes of the shy third-year and the smiles that Sora had on her face more and more these days.

It was pretty obvious to anyone paying attention.

Rei huffed as she returned to her own dilemma. She would have to find a partner soon, or Shizuka would drill her. And she was not looking forward to that. Which reminded her- she wasn't looking forward to her teacher lecturing her for her tardiness.

As she headed back to class, she dismissed the matter from her mind. It wasn't like she had no time left, anyway.

Knocking swiftly on the door, she entered the classroom and murmured a quiet apology to her teacher for being late, who just nodded impatiently and told her to take a seat. As she made her way to her customary seat in the back row, she caught Tezuka's eye in the front row, and she smiled at him. He nodded back in greeting, and as she walked past him, she couldn't help but think about how much their friendship had grown in the past month or so.

Just a few weeks before, she wouldn't even have said anything to him in passing except for maybe a murmured _hello _or an absentminded nod.

It was strange to think about how much a part of her day her friendship with him was becoming. She was grateful for it- his presence wasn't the same as Sora's, who was blunt and always _straight to the point_- it was more calming, and- she didn't know how to explain it, but she always felt better after talking to him.

A half-smile appeared on her face as she thought back to their conversation the day before:

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

Her face had taken on a soft, unfocused look- she was fortunate that the teacher had not looked over to the back row- if she had, she would have immediately seen the lack of attention that Rei was giving to the lesson.

As it was, she didn't turn from the board, and what she didn't know never hurt her- Rei was safe for the moment.

The bell rang soon after that, and the entire class jumped up, eager for lunch. Rei was still gathering up her books when Tezuka walked over. She looked up, startled but happy to see him. With her familiar lopsided smile, she greeted him. "Tezuka-san! How was your day?"

"Aa, it was fine."

As they slowly walked out of the classroom talking, Rei felt as though a barrier had disintegrated between them.

"How was the draw?"

She blinked. Oh, he was asking about the Kantou tournament draw. Right. "It was alright, I guess…" Her voice trailed off, and Tezuka looked up with a slight hint of curiosity in his eyes. "But we're drawn to play Hyotei in the second round if everything goes as planned…"

"Hyotei?"

Rei nodded. "Yeah, they're seeded third, so that's not really good for either of us…but we'll manage. We're the first seed, after all!" She laughed, before continuing her talk. "But we're lucky that Fukuoka Daiichi's far away from us-"

At Tezuka's questioning look, she explained. "Oh, sorry, I forgot that you didn't know. Talking with you makes it so easy to forget things…"

The set of Tezuka's jawline softened ever so slightly. "Aa."

"So where was I? Ah right! Fukuoka Daiichi's the second seed, and they've also been to Nationals before. Their captain and vice-captain especially-" Rei felt a shiver go up her spine as she remembered them, "- they're _something else_."

"Are they good?" Tezuka was surprised to see Rei looking so worried- he had gotten used to her carefree smile and casual confidence.

"Yeah…I've played against the captain before, and _damn, _was she _scary_. Ikeda Setsuna's her name," she added for Tezuka's benefit, "and she may be the tiniest player I've ever seen, but man, does she _pack _a punch…"

"She must be good if you say so."

"Oh, she is! And her vice-captain, Akita, is completely different, but she's _just _as scary!"

As Tezuka listened to Rei ramble on about how intimidating the Fukuoka team was, his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had with Fuji earlier in the day.

"_I asked someone to go with me to the dance."_

"…"

"_It's not as bad as you think, Tezuka."_

"_I don't have anyone to ask."_

"_But isn't Wakanari in your class?"_

"…_Hn."_

"_Just think about it, Tezuka."_

Now that he thought back to their conversation, he could see the logic in Fuji's point. He supposed that not _everything _that the tensai did was twisted and had an ulterior motive- although this probably did- and he was right this time.

Asking someone to go to the dance with him would be a lot easier than having to put up with his fangirls' crazed behaviour any longer.

"Wakanari."

Rei turned to him, smile on her face. "Hmm?"

He just looked back, contemplating his choices. "…nothing."

She didn't look like she fully believed him, but she didn't question him, for which he was grateful. "If you say so…while I still remember, what did I miss in class today?"

The change of topic suited him, and soon enough, they were talking steadily again. But the thought was still there in the back of his mind.

* * *

Sora was standing at her locker, putting her books back carefully into order when she heard a voice behind her. "Um…Igarashi-san?"

She turned to see Oishi standing behind her, looking embarrassed and with flushed cheeks- she honestly didn't understand why he always turned so _red_- as he looked nervously at her. "Yes, what is it, Oishi?"

"Um…I just wanted to ask you about…about- today's homework!"

The blonde raised her eyebrow at his stammered explanation, but decided to let it slip by her this time. After all, Oishi looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

"You don't know what it is, I'm guessing?"

If it was even possible, Oishi flushed a deeper red than before, his face virtually giving off steam. "Um, yeah…I guess…"

Sora laughed. "You don't have to be so nervous about it, Oishi. Relax, you could have just asked me." As he looked even more embarrassed, she checked her folder. "I'm pretty sure it was just the pages we were doing in class today for maths."

He nodded eagerly. "Ah, that's right! Arigato, Igarashi-san!"

"You're welcome. Next time, just ask."

As she turned back around from her locker, she was surprised to see that he was still standing awkwardly there, with that queer look of nervousness on his face.

At her pointed look, he stammered something again. "Um- I have to ask you…something…"

Sora looked at him askance, but not without amusement. "What is it this time, Oishi? Don't tell me you've already forgotten what the homework was that I just told you."

His faced turned a shade of red that seemed to be unnatural and inhuman- Sora didn't even known it was humanly _possible _to turn that colour. "That's-!"

Sora laughed at his speechlessness. "I'm kidding, no need to be so embarrassed. What is it?"

"Um…um…"

Sora had just lifted her hand to adjust her glasses while using the other to close her locker when he finally mustered the words to ask the question.

"Um…can you go to- the dance? Um, I mean, with me?"

"…!" She spun around, almost hitting herself in the head with the door of her locker, and looked incredulous and disbelieving. "What did you just say? Did I just hear you asking me to _go to the dance with you_?"

Oishi immediately started apologizing frantically, bowing and speaking with a completely bright pink face. "Gomenasai for the sudden question! I didn't mean to startle you like that! You don't have to accept if you don't want to-"

By now, Sora had calmed down sufficiently, and she began to feel self-conscious of the many curious pairs of eyes that were becoming fixed on the two of them. She tried to stop Oishi from continuing his stream of apologies.

"Oishi, it's okay! You don't have to apologize!"

Luckily, he stopped with the gushed words, and he fell silent, looking extremely awkward, just as Sora did.

"…well, this is awkward."

Oishi shuffled his feet, unsure of what to say in the strange situation. "Well, just forget I ever said anything-"

"Are you sure about that invitation?"

He turned back to Sora with wide eyes. "You mean you're saying _yes_?"

She looked at him weirdly. "I didn't say _that_…" He immediately deflated, looking disappointed and ashamed of himself.

"Sorry…I guess I'll be going then…sorry for troubling you…"

Sora held out a hand to stop him before he could leave. "Oishi, you're assuming things _way _too fast here. Slow down for a second." She looked at him through her glasses, gaze inscrutable. He felt the need to look away from those piercing eyes that seemed as though they were reading everything about him.

"…alright."

"Huh?" was his intelligent response. Oishi was shocked- he hadn't expected her to actually agree after the stunned reaction to his question.

The basketball captain rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said clearly, "I'll go with you to the dance."

A smile broke out on his face- in spite of all the eyes on her, Sora found herself reluctantly smiling as well. Oishi could be very endearing in his own way- honestly, she found him a lot more attractive than Tezuka.

Now, she could _never _understand what all hundred and eight fangirls of his saw in him- _she _definitely didn't see anything she particularly liked in a guy. Sure, he was good-looking and she respected him as a captain and fellow student- but the poker face was _extremely _off-putting.

In fact, she didn't know what _Rei _saw in him.

Oishi, on the other hand, was a lot more relatable. He was shy, but cutely good-looking, and was obviously eager to please.

As he thanked her and literally _ran _off- probably to tell his friends- she found herself watching after him with a- god forbid it- _fond _smile on her face. She was _never _fond of things- just ask her teammates. Even to Rei, her closest friend, she rarely ever showed open affection. It just wasn't her way.

So what was this?

_Oh well, _she shrugged, and closed her locker, ignoring the eyes fixed on her back, the matter could wait. For now, she had to go and find Rei to ask her about what she thought.

Besides, she owed her one. Rei could be _very _perceptive when it came to the relationships of others, but completely _dense _when it came to her own.

What were friends for except to torment each other?

* * *

Sitting at the cafeteria table with Horio was _not _a fun experience. In _any _situation.

Ryoma pretended to not listen to the annoyingly loud voice of his friend, but he couldn't completely tune it out. The incredibly irritating sound was beginning to get to him- he felt the sudden urge to get up and just walk out of the cafeteria.

After dumping his tray of food onto Horio's head, of course.

Luckily for the other freshman, Sakuno and Tomoka turned up at that point, placing their trays onto the table and sat down. Tomoka immediately started talking in her loud voice, fawning over Ryoma as usual.

"Ryoma-sama! Are you going to be at practice this afternoon? Sakuno and I will be there to cheer you on as usual! L.O.V.E. RYOMA-SAMA!"

Sakuno blushed as her friend drew the attention of what seemed like at least half of the students in the cafeteria with her raucous cheering. She ducked her head embarrassedly as she watched Ryoma stare with an expression of boredom and irritation at his food.

"Um…r-Ryoma-kun?"

He looked up. "Huh?"

But before she could say anything, Momoshiro suddenly turned up behind the freshman regular and seized him in a headlock, ruffling his hair. "Momo-senpai! Leave me alone!"

The second-year only laughed good-humouredly as he hit the boy lightly on the back of the head. "Oi, Echizen, I hear _someone _got a date to the dance- care to tell your senpai all about it?"

Tomoka was immediately on her feet, eyes wide. "Who? Who? Who _dares _to take my Ryoma-sama from me?"

Horio was in a similar situation, staring at his friend. "Echizen got a date? Impossible! Now I have to step up my game, or I'll look bad…"

Ryoma just adjusted his collar, ignoring his friends. "Yadda." Sakuno just stared at her tray, cheeks reddening and embarrassment stopping her from looking up. What would Ryoma think of her?

Momoshiro was bent on getting it out of Echizen. "Come on, brat, tell us who it is!"

"Ryoma-sama! Tell me who stole you away so I can wreak my revenge upon them!"

"…_scary_…"

Ryoma just turned away, refusing to say another word. After a few minutes of intense questioning and threatening, Sakuno finally had enough.

"Stop!" As everyone turned to stare at her, she stammered, "H-he's going with m-me, so d-don't bother r-r-Ryoma-kun anymore!"

"…Sakuno! Why didn't you tell me! We have to find you a dress as soon as possible! And shoes! Oh, and jewellery! And we have to take you to a salon!" As Tomoka began to go on a rant again, Sakuno looked extremely embarrassed, as though she wished she had just kept her mouth shut. "t-Tomo-chan…"

Momoshiro and Horio were teasing and bugging Ryoma, who just looked away with a slightly pink flush to his cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier, Echizen?"

"Don't worry- all you have to do is impress her, turn up with roses- red, of course- and pick her up from her house and ask her to dance-"

"Yadda."

Horio stared at Ryoma strangely. "Hey, Echizen, I heard from Tomoka that you went off with Ryuzaki yesterday after practice…"

Momoshiro almost laughed his head off. "Yeah, they did! And guess what they went to do? This brat was helping Ryuzaki with her tennis! Heh, the only thing in his head is tennis, tennis and more tennis!"

"She could have just asked me…with my two years of tennis experience, I would have made a much better coach…"

"Echizen, are you going to ever ask Ryuzaki out on a date or not? You know if you don't hurry, someone else will get her!"

"Momo-senpai, talk to me when you find a date to the dance. If you ever do."

"Oi, watch what you're saying to your senpai, brat!"

"Mada mada dane."

* * *

Rei was sitting under a tree outside, breathing in and enjoying the breeze. She would have normally been sitting inside the cafeteria with Sora and a few other friends- but today, she had felt claustrophobic, with all of the people crammed into the room.

Of course, the fact that everyone was talking about Valentine's Day didn't help much.

She stared out at the grounds, absentmindedly fingering the letter that was open in her hands.

_My dearest daughter, _

_It has been a long time since I last saw you face-to-face, and many things have happened since we last met. I am now engaged, as you may have heard- when you meet her, you'll see that Mai is actually a wonderful woman. You would get along well with her. How are your studies going? I trust you are well. Come to visit us soon._

_Father_

She thrust it back into her pocket harder than intended, the paper crumpling between her fingers. She didn't want to think about it right now- she _wouldn't_.

"Wakanari?"

She turned to see Tezuka approaching from the direction of the main building- an involuntary smile appeared on her lips.

"Tezuka-san! I didn't expect to see you out here at lunch."

He sat carefully beside her, back ramrod-straight and crossing his legs in a very traditional manner. It made Rei feel suddenly very childish, but she found that she didn't particularly dislike the feeling.

"I wanted to find some quiet."

She laughed. "The fangirls bothering you again?"

"Aa." Rei found his uncomfortable look very funny- it wasn't every day that Tezuka Kunimitsu willingly shared some of his problems with others.

"Well, I'm sure they leave you alone after a while. The dance isn't too far away, after all- just a week or so?"

He nodded in confirmation, and they both sat in a comfortable silence for a time, Rei absently braiding her hair, and Tezuka just sitting there.

It was a strange moment- Tezuka was watching Rei's slender fingers dart skilfully to and fro as she played with a strand of her own hair. It suddenly seemed like the right time to him- he didn't know why, but it just did.

"Wakanari."

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" The question was not phrased as a romantic advance- he saw Rei as a friend that he could rely on. For now, that was enough for him, and it was enough for her as well.

The lopsided smile made a reappearance- in that moment, Tezuka thought she had never looked so sincerely _real_.

"Really?"

"Really."

And they shared the look that had become so familiar to both of them in its heartfelt sincerity and understanding.

Walking across the courtyard, Sora stopped in her tracks as she saw the two of them sitting there, close but not touching. She had been looking for Rei- but now that she had found her, she had no desire to ruin the moment.

A soft smile touched her lips as she turned away, and headed back into the main building.

Another pair of eyes was watching the two- up in a window, the sun glinting off the glass as the figure shifted slightly, eyes narrowing against the dazzling light- or was it something else?- as they looked on.

Back outside, Rei held her hand up to block a sudden burst of blinding sunlight, shielding her eyes. After a moment, she let it fall out to the side, lying on the ground.

Accidentally, her fingers brushed Tezuka's, just for a second, before she pulled her hand away.

Neither of them fully noticed.

But it was a step in the right direction for them.

* * *

**A/N: **Finally finished! This chapter is the longest yet- over seven thousand words! Alright, so the RyoSaku is coming along nicely, as well as Tezuka and Rei's relationship. I'm sorry for the not very good chapter- I promise, I will make it up in the next one. Next chapter is the long awaited Valentine's Day! (and it will have an appropriate amount of excitement) There will be a _lot _of development in Chapter Ten, so look out for it! While you're waiting, please review! Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! The number of reviews was more than the previous two chapters combined! To the rest of you, I'm begging you on my knees. -_-


	11. Chapter Ten: Feeling

**A/N: **Finally, Chapter Ten: Valentine's Day! Sorry about the delay- I just published a SasuSaku (one-sided SasuKarin) story _Heartbreaker. _Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter- fifty five reviews already! :) This chapter is going to be _filled _with so many sweet moments that all of you reading will need fillings for your cavities afterwards!

Oh, before I forget- I am starting a story collaboration with _aehlta- _we will be occasionally linking events and characters in our stories. So for now, only one new character of hers is coming in- and it will be FujiOC! Keep in mind, that all credit for the character goes to her, and more will be revealed about her in the course of the story later. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and please remember to review after you finish reading it! Thanks!

This chapter is dedicated to my cousin in China, who recently scored the top mark in some sort of big test (for Australians, it's like the Selective, but in Year 10, I think? I don't know) they have over there, the smart boy! Congratulations!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs. _aehlta _owns Tenshi.

* * *

If there was one day that Tezuka _ever _arrived at morning practice late, it was Valentine's Day.

He didn't want to have to deal with the redoubled _screaming_ of the fangirls- he already knew by the time he first opened his locker in the changing rooms, it would already be filled to _overflowing _with _pink _and chocolates. How so many girls even got into the change rooms before practice without getting caught was beyond him.

He didn't understand why there was so much fuss about just one day- it wasn't like anything special happened. Not that he enjoyed receiving confessions and declarations of love, but he would have thought that if you really loved someone, you would confess on any day, not wait for a certain day.

But it wasn't like he would know anything.

As he slowly walked towards the tennis courts along the longer route- which accounted for his lateness, he wanted to avoid any potential problems- such as leaving another girl in tears again.

Of course, before he even step foot inside the courts, Fuji was already there, smiling away with that sadistic smirk of his.

"Saa, Tezuka, have you seen the changing rooms yet?" When his friend shook his head, the tensai's smile widened. "You _might _find it interesting…"

"According to my calculations, at least seventy percent of the female school population has managed to break into the changing rooms," interjected Inui, adjusting his glasses, "and sixty-eight percent of those are likely to have opened Tezuka's locker.

Tezuka felt the urge to sigh in exasperation- he was going to be having a _long _day.

He hadn't been wrong.

It was only the beginning of the school day, and already, Tezuka felt like he was going to explode with frustration. Ever since practice had begun, he couldn't even hear himself _think_, what with all the noise from the watching girls.

That was only the beginning. When the regulars had finally managed to force their way through the crowd of girls to the changing rooms, every single one of them- except Inui, maybe- opened their lockers to be greeted with a shower of _revoltingly _pink wrapped chocolates.

That might have been fine with Momoshiro and Kikumaru, who both happily set into eating as much as they could before class, but Tezuka did _not _like chocolate.

He didn't like sweet things in general, and in that changing room, the smell of chocolate was everywhere, in his locker, in his clothes, in the air.

By the time he had managed to get to class- with some satisfaction, he had noted he was still five or ten minutes early- he had already received numerous confessions from girls and had had boxes upon wrapped boxes of chocolates thrust onto him, whether he tried to refuse or not.

So there he was, sitting at his desk, trying to ignore the giggles of girls around him and the rapidly growing stack of boxes on his desk.

"Um, Tezuka-kun?"

He looked up wearily to see yet _another _girl- how many girls were there in the school, anyway?- standing in front of him, staring coyly with a blush at him.

"Aa.

She smiled, and he suddenly found another ostentatiously_ pink _box being thrust into his hands, and the accompanying words, "Here, I made these _especially _for you! Please accept them!"

At least she hadn't confessed her love. Tezuka didn't like all this attention, but he would take it rather than seeing a girl cry because of him.

So despite his irritation, he said stiffly, "Thank you", and took the box gingerly with his fingers, dropping it on the tottering stack in front of him.

What made girls think he would like _chocolate_, wrapped with _bright pink _no less?

It was beyond him.

"Ah, Tezuka-san?"

He looked up again in surprise to see Rei standing there, looking a bit sheepish and with one of her hands oddly positioned behind her back.

"Wakanari."

Rei grimaced sympathetically at his weary tone. "Hard day, is it?"

"Aa." _You have no idea_, he was tempted to add. His eye was immediately drawn to the hand she had deliberately positioned to be hidden from his view.

She noticed where he was looking, and laughed sheepishly. "Um, yeah- I got you something for today as well…oh, don't worry," she added hastily at his tense look, "it's not chocolate, if that's what you're wondering."

"…" He _was _surprised at that- he hadn't expected her to realize that he didn't particularly care for chocolate.

She hurried to explain, looking worried. "It's just that I noticed that you never eat sweet things, and judging by that-" she gestured at the pile of untouched chocolates on his table, "-you wouldn't like them either. I'm sorry if you do! I wasn't sure but I thought-"

"Thank you." Tezuka was sincere, he was genuinely touched by the fact that she had noticed his distaste for sweets.

Rei stopped, and her expression of shock slowly transformed into a smile. "You don't mind?" When he nodded slightly, her smile tilted into the lopsided grin that he had become so familiar with over the past few weeks. "Really?"

"Really."

She laughed at that, she tossed her long hair back and _laughed_. The sound was unexpected, but Tezuka found that he rather liked it.

Rei held out a small package wrapped in black and tied with a plain blue ribbon- he was surprised at that. At his curious look, she explained. "Ah, I figured that you wouldn't really appreciate _that-_" she gestured vaguely at the mostly pink pile, "-so I chose something I thought you'd like more."

Tezuka nodded in appreciation- she had done a good job. It was plain, simple- _unfussy_. He liked it a lot better than the frilly, sparkly, _pink _packages he had received throughout the day.

Upon carefully unwrapping the present, his fingers froze. "_Sekihan*_?"

Rei laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, I didn't know what else to give you, since you didn't like sweet things, so I decided on this. I mean, if you don't like it, I can always-"

"It's perfectly fine. Thank you." Tezuka slowly picked up the delicate wooden container, rather pleased with the gift. He couldn't deny that this was the first time that someone had been thoughtful enough to give him something like this.

"Seriously? Thank god, I was so worried that you wouldn't like it and-" Rei was interrupted when she heard a sound that sounded suspiciously like a muffled laugh. She glanced down at Tezuka, who had his hand over his mouth, and what looked like his usual poker face.

"Tezuka-san? Did you just…_laugh_?"

"Hn. I don't know what you're talking about." But there was a strange quality to his voice, almost as if he was holding back a smile.

Rei let the subject drop, but that didn't stop the smile spreading on her face as well. "O-kay, if you say so…"

The teacher walked in at that point, and Rei looked around. "Oh, I guess I'll be leaving then…"

Tezuka nodded stiffly. "Thank you, Wakanari."

Rei glanced down at him, amusement dancing in her eyes as she smiled lopsidedly.

"You know you can just call me Rei, right?"

With that parting sentence and a smile, she had disappeared back to her own seat in the back row, and Tezuka was left with that startling revelation to meditate over.

* * *

"Fujiko! Who are you bringing to the dance with you?"

The tensai smiled his closed-eye smile, and turned his head towards Kikumaru. "Eiji, why are you so interested all of a sudden?"

Kikumaru pouted and slung his arm around Fuji's shoulders. "Because we're friends, and I want to know!"

Fuji laughed at his friend's whiny, pleading voice, and relented. "Ah, alright then. If you must know, I'm going with Tenshi-kun."

The red-haired acrobat blinked once in confusion. "Angel…kun?*"

"Don't worry, Eiji, Tenshi isn't a boy, although I suppose that can be debatable…"

"Fuji. _I can hear you, you know that, right?_"

Kikumaru almost jumped out of his skin in fright, even though he hadn't understood the last part spoken in English, but as expected of the tensai, Fuji didn't react with anything more than turning to face the newcomer with a smile. "Ne, Tenshi-kun, there's no need to sneak up on others like that…"

The girl standing behind the two boys indeed looked curiously boyish. Her black hair was cut short like a guy's haircut, and it was messy to the point of extreme. But what freaked Kikumaru out even more were her eyes.

They were, literally, dead brown, and with the flat, bored stare she was giving the two of them, she looked downright like a zombie, especially with the deadpan expression on her face.

"…who are you? I haven't seen you around before! Have you received any chocolates from girls yet? I think you're rather cute for a guy, so I thought you might have received some-"

Tenshi interrupted, saying something quietly in what Kikumaru thought sounded like English to Fuji, who nodded and said something in reply.

The girl had a small smile on her face as he spoke, but suddenly, her expression turned sour.

_Crack_.

There was a what-the-hell-do-you-want-me-to-_kill_-you look in Tenshi's eyes, and Kikumaru realized the source of the sound was from the pencil in her hand, which she had _literally snapped in half. _

Fuji quietly muttered in Kikumaru's ear, "Eiji, Tenshi-kun is a girl."

Kikumaru immediately tried to backtrack, holding his hands up frantically in apology. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you a guy, but I thought-"

He looked surprised as Tenshi stared at him slightly puzzled. She spoke slowly, clearly trying to pronounce the words correctly. "Not, angry, _that_, I don't mind ,called, guy."

"…what?"

Tenshi continued, her eyes narrowing once again, "Don't like…_cute._" She said the last part in English, and Kikumaru was barely able to understand what she had said. But he got the idea.

Fuji, deciding to try and spare his terrified friend, tried to placate the black-haired girl. "Saa, Tenshi-kun, there's no need to get all fired up…besides, Eiji here was just asking me about the dance tonight."

The tension in the girl's shoulders relaxed, and she said in English, "_Aa. Alright then_."

Kikumaru sighed with relief, assured that he wasn't going to murdered in cold blood that day. "Ah, that's right! You're the one Fujiko asked to the dance, right…?" He trailed off, unsure of how to address her, not least because of her clearly very poor Japanese.

"Call, Kasumi."

He grinned cheerfully. "Alright, Kasumi-chan!"

"Kasumi-_kun_. No _–chan_."

He sweatdropped. "O-okay then…"

Just then, a sudden shriek reached their ears, and simultaneously all three of them turned around to the source of the scream.

A first-year girl stood there, with a beyond shocked expression on her face. She was staring at Fuji, and then at Tenshi, and then at Fuji again. While the black-haired girl looked uncomfortable, the tensai merely smiled enigmatically at the girl.

That seemed to break her out of her spell. She pointed shakily at the two of them, and stammered out, "Y-y-you're g-going to the d-dance with f-Fuji-senpai?"

Tenshi just stared at her blankly. "…you, eavesdropping?"

That did it. The girl ran off screaming out, "Fuji-senpai's going to the dance with a boy!"

As if on cue, fangirls appeared from wherever they were previously- from classrooms, next to their lockers, from the bathroom- Kikumaru turned pale as a moment of silence prevailed.

"Uh oh…time to get out of here!"

He sped off down the hallway, just in the nick of time as a stampede of crying girls made it down the hallway. "Fuji-kun! Why?"

Surprisingly, the tensai held his ground, somehow managing to not even look worried. He glanced at Tenshi standing next to him, chuckling lightly. "Tenshi-kun, I'm surprised they haven't noticed that you're wearing the girl's uniform yet…"

She looked at him with a deadpan face. "Maybe, Cross-dresser?" she got out sarcastically, before switching to English. "_I'm wearing the sports uniform as usual_." Sure enough, she was dressed sloppily in the Seigaku unisex sports uniform, but with the strange combination of normal black school shoes.

The girls crowded around the two of them, questions and pleas hurled at them rapidly like target practice. "Fuji-senpai, why didn't you tell us about your preferences?"

"Yeah, we could have tried to accommodate! We wouldn't have judged you for it!"

"Fuji-kun!"

Fuji cleared his throat amusedly, and the entire crowd of girls fell silent, eagerly straining to hear his answer. Tenshi eyed him warily- Fuji _never _did things without some kind of consequence for others involved. "Fuji …what, doing…"

He glanced at her with a light laugh. "Saa, Tenshi-kun, you should be calling me _senpai_. Just watch your _senpai _handle this…"

"…bastard," Tenshi muttered under her breath, making sure that it was just loud enough for him to hear.

Fuji turned to address the listening girls. "I apologize for not telling you all about this beforehand. However, I regret to inform all of you who have previously asked me to go to the dance with you that I," and here he put a hand on Tenshi's shoulder, and the girl stiffened at the contact, "will be going with dear Tenshi-kun here."

"..."

He leaned forward almost conspiratorially, and said in a low voice as if telling the girls a secret, "I am sorry to tell you that I in fact am taken." He gestured to the uncomfortable boyish girl glaring at him.

"…"

_Thump_. A girl standing in front of Fuji had collapsed in a dead faint, as though he had given her a sleeping pill.

Tenshi temporarily forgot about her anger at Fuji as she stared at the girls, half of whom had fainted. Honestly, Fuji was just _too evil _sometimes.

Speaking of who, the tensai laughed, as if he hadn't just caused the collapse of a whole lot of girls. "Ne, that was interesting, don't you think?"

Tenshi immediately turned on him, normally dead, indifferent eyes sparking a little. "Fuji. What, you, do?"

"I didn't do anything, I merely informed them that I already had a partner for the dance. Is there something wrong with that, Tenshi-kun?"

The black-haired girl opened her mouth to retaliate, only to realize that in fact, what he had said was actually completely innocent. "Che. Crazy, tensai."

His smile widened. "What could you possibly be talking about?"

* * *

Until the end of the first class, the word was going around like rapid fire that Fuji was in a relationship with another boy.

That was until it had been cleared up- courtesy of Kikumaru and his big mouth- that Fuji was in fact going to the dance with the notorious tomboy of class 2-7.

When Sora heard about it from one of Fuji's fangirls in her class, she just shook her head in exasperation and adjusted her glasses again. Fuji could be quite a handful sometimes. She had no idea how Tezuka managed to handle him.

"Igarashi-san?" She looked up to see Kagawa, the publicity director, standing next to her desk.

"What is it, Kagawa-san?"

He looked nervous and completely stressed out, as if he had already gone through the entire school day rather than just one class. "Has everything been organized?"

She nodded, keeping a cool, blank expression on her face. She wasn't _that _unkind to show him how irritated she had been by this whole venture. "Yes, all that's left is the announcement."

Kagawa looked relieved, he grinned and sighed happily. "Thank god! Thank you so much, Igarashi-san, for all of your hard work! I have to go and make the announcement now!" With another hurried goodbye, he dashed out of the classroom, leaving a very disgruntled Sora behind. "Huh."

Oishi had seen the whole interaction, and coming over to her desk, he tentatively sat down beside Sora. "Igarashi-san?"

Glancing briefly at him, she nodded in greeting and bluntly said, "Just call me Sora and scrap the respectful crap."

He immediately flushed, and stammered out, "B-but...!"

"If it makes you feel better, you can still call me _–san_."

Her words seemed to make him feel more at ease- the red of his cheeks cooled slightly and he nodded with a nervous smile. "Alright then, Iga- Sora-san."

Sora smiled slightly at this- she had never been a fan of honorifics. "Oishi, do you have any idea how much I want to quit student council right now?"

He laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, this whole Valentine's Day venture has been a little hectic…"

Just then, the preliminary crackling of the PA system could be heard, and the chatter of the students died down into an anticipatory lull.

Sora almost groaned when she heard Kagawa's falsely enthusiastic voice over the announcement system. "_Hey there! So this is Kagawa Daisuke, the student council publicity director, for those of you who don't know! Today, I am bringing you the announcement of this year's event for Valentine's Day!"_

Excited murmurs could be heard throughout the classrooms, and Sora felt like just letting her head fall and hit the desk as she unwillingly listened to the announcement. Hell, just _thinking _about the chaos that day and the work she would have to do helping to organize this was killing her. In the seat next to her, Oishi gave her a sympathetic glance.

"_I am very pleased to announce that this year, we will be doing a competition for the best couple!_"

Well, the girls were very excited about that. On the other hand, the expression on most of the boys' faces went from interested to bored.

"_We have permission from the principal for all of you to use your cell-phones or any other electronic device to take photos of other students you believe to be a great couple! But remember, you can enter up to three pictures per entrant for each pair, and it _cannot- _I repeat _cannot- _include yourself!"_

Groans of despair at that announcement.

"_The deadline for the entries is the end of the school day, and the winners of each category will be announced at the dance tonight! All entries are to be submitted at the school office, and must be digital! Keep in mind that the couples do not have to be officially going out! Good luck, and have fun!_"

As the speakers crackled and then cut off, the students immediately began talking up an uproar about the event that year. Girls immediately began talking among themselves excitedly, and even the boys managed to look a bit interested.

Sora let her head fall into her hands with a groan, and Oishi patted her consolingly on the back with a nervous laugh.

* * *

When the announcement was heard by the freshmen, chaos ensued just as it was among the upper years. Horio immediately slapped Ryoma on the back, laughing uproariously. The freshman tennis regular frowned with annoyance, rubbing the spot where he had been hit.

"Echizen, my man! This is your moment!"

"Horio, you're annoying."

The four freshmen boys talked excitedly- well, all three except Ryoma did- and Tomoka immediately latched onto Sakuno, almost chattering her ear off as Sakuno flushed pink with embarrassment.

"Tomo-chan!"

"Sakuno, don't you understand! This is your chance to seize Ryoma-sama once and for all! You've got to _assert _yourself, make sure that you get him before anyone else does!"

"W-what?"

The obnoxiously loud girl proclaimed confidently, "_I _will be your photographer today! And _I _will enter them in the competition!"

Sakuno blushed tomato red at this, casting a brief but hopeful glance at Ryoma, who looked bored and annoyed by the antics of his friends. "But…r-Ryoma-kun might not w-want to do this…"

The other girl waved it off dismissively. "That isn't the problem right now! It doesn't matter whether he's willing or not! What matters is how we get the pictures without him noticing!"

"t-Tomo-chan!"

Meanwhile, Echizen was facing pretty much the same as Sakuno, only he had chosen to adopt an I-don't-care-because-you-are-all-beneath-me attitude.

"HA HA HA! Echizen, you've got a girlfriend now, why not let us take pictures of you?"

Ryoma just adjusted his uniform uncomfortably and flipped a page of his textbook. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"What do you mean? You and Sakuno-chan are totally-"

"Yadda. Don't talk about things you don't know about, it really makes you look like an idiot."

"Why, Echizen…!"

Just then, a push from Tomoka sent Sakuno stumbling towards Ryoma, unable to keep her balance. The boy looked startled as he registered the girl falling towards him.

As Sakuno clumsily tripped and felt herself falling, she let out a small shriek as she closed her eyes, anticipating the pain of the collision.

But the impact she felt didn't hurt at all- in fact, she was sure that the floor would not feel as warm as whatever she had crashed into.

Feeling brave enough to open one of her eyes a crack, she looked up and was met by a startled pair of golden eyes not three inches away from hers.

"Oh my god!" The exclamation from Tomoka was enough to get Sakuno unfrozen from her current position. She realized with growing horror that she had knocked Ryoma over and fallen on top of him onto the ground! She was so embarrassed, she was never going to be able to live this down.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, r-r-Ryoma-kun!" she stuttered as she tried to get up. The boy slowly sat up, looking indifferent as always. "Che, it's not as if I care."

She flinched at his harsh words, but when she peeked at him fearfully, she realized that the words were meant to make her feel better. At this, she relaxed slightly, and a hopeful smile made it back onto her face.

"r-Really?"

"Mada mada dane."

_Click_. Both of them looked up just in time to see Tomoka quickly stowing her cell phone away in her pocket, with an evil grin on her face. They both immediately realized the compromising position they were in, and Sakuno flushed red again, running over to her friend, begging her to delete the picture. Ryoma just got back up and sat in his seat, the only sign of anything out of the ordinary happening a faint pink on his cheeks.

* * *

Akira was in her classroom, and she was in a _very _bad mood that day.

For one, it was _Valentine's Day. _Who in their right mind would even _celebrate _such a pitiful excuse for a day? Certainly not her.

The second reason for her unusual-for-her irritation that day was the fidgeting and seemingly distracted state that her seatmate was in. Tenshi was normally always silent and calm- it was unusual to see her as she was now, nervously fidgeting every five seconds and glancing at the door.

The red-haired girl huffed, and blew the hair covering her face out of her eyes- well, the right one, at least. She absently played with a strand of hair, eyeing the black streaks that were beginning to grow out again.

Well, perhaps she needed a new haircut.

Her fingers drifted to the side to play with the piercings on her right ear, all three of them. Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since she had gotten a new piercing, or a tattoo, for that matter. Maybe she needed one.

Looking down, Akira read the copy of the Kantou tournament draw again for what felt like the sixty-seventh time, courtesy of Sora. Her eyes immediately went to where Seigaku was written at number eleven, just a dangerous two names above Hyotei's.

She shouldn't be worrying about it- there was no point. Either way, they just had to go all out and secure the National title, no matter what.

Her teammates wasn't going to settle for anything less than victory, and neither was Akira.

"Kurenai." Akira turned at the sound of her name, and realized that it had been her seatmate who had called her. She raised an eyebrow.

"Kasumi-kun. What is it?"

Normally, she wouldn't have called _anyone_, least of all a girl, _-kun_, but Tenshi had insisted when they had first met, and either way, no one addressed her by her first name. Except Fuji. And no one knew why the tensai did _anything_.

"You, going, anyone, dance, tonight?"

Akira looked confused- not because of the poor Japanese, but since when was Tenshi one to talk about _girly _things like dances and boys? "Che, as if I would say yes to anyone," she grumbled.

The blank expression on Tenshi's face relaxed slightly, and she mumbled underneath her breath, "Thought, so."

Akira narrowed her eyes at the black-haired girl. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"What are you so fidgety about anyway? You're normally never this talkative."

"Aa. True." Tenshi was silent for a while again, before saying in English, "_There's someone who wants to talk to you_."

Akira blinked. "There's…what?" English had never been her forte.

"Someone, wants, you." Tenshi jerked her chin at the door, and Akira followed her line of gaze to see Momoshiro standing outside their classroom door. When he saw that she had seen him, she She frowned, but stood up anyway.

"Thanks, Kasumi-kun."

The other girl just nodded at her, before slouching back down into her seat and staring at her desk again.

Meanwhile, Kaidoh had also caught sight of Momoshiro, and his eyes automatically narrowed at the sight of his rival, especially as he saw Akira walking over to him. What was this about?

"Hey, Kurenai, um…" Momoshiro scratched his head awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed. Akira, on the other hand, had no such problems.

"Get to the point, Momoshiro. What do you want?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I was going to ask- but you don't have to say yes, I mean it's only because of…"

She looked annoyed. "Stop talking nonsense and say what you came to say. What is it?"

"Wilyagotothdancewime?" the second-year boy blurted out much too fast. Akira frowned in annoyed confusion. "Come again?"

Momoshiro was looking more and more mortified by the second, but he repeated anyway, "Will you go to the dance with me?"

She gave him a weird look. "What the hell. Where did _that _come from, weirdo?"

"Well- I can't really go alone when even that brat Echizen has a partner! And I already asked Nagasaki!"

Akira looked as though she wanted to strangle him and laugh at the same time. "What did she say?"

He huffed indignantly. "She just laughed! In my face!"

"Pfft…that _is _pretty funny."

"Hey! What do you mean, funny?"

Akira just turned her head to the side to hide the small smile that had crept onto her face. She would die a thousand painful deaths before admitting it, but she actually found him sort of funny.

Momoshiro peered around her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of her face. "Hey, are you actually _smiling_?"

"Shut up, idiot," but her words were spoken without any real venom in them.

The boy decided to let it pass. "So…? Your answer?"

A golden eye was fixed on him, before Akira scoffed and turned away, heading back to her seat. Momoshiro was frozen in shock. "H-hey! Don't just walk away like that!"

"Fine."

He froze again. "Wait…what? Fine to not walking away, or fine to going to the dance with me?"

Akira looked over her shoulder at him with what looked like as close to an amused expression as she would give. "The dance, you idiot."

When Momoshiro's dazed expression began turning into a smile, she quickly added, "But only because I want to see the look on that _baka risu_'s face when she sees. Ha, that will be a sight…" With that, she walked back to her seat, shaking her head.

The boy just stood there, a goofy, disbelieving smile growing on his face. Despite all of his bragging to Ryoma and Shizuka, among others, he had been rapidly losing confidence in his ability to find a partner for the dance.

Well, he had proved them all wrong, hadn't he?

* * *

Rei was at the moment, ducked under her desk laughing silently at the chaos that had overtaken their classroom. The teacher had already given up on controlling the class and was trying to read a textbook.

As soon as the announcement had cut off, half the class- mostly girls- had jumped up and begun pleading with Tezuka to let someone take a photo of them together.

Of course, like the statue he was, he ignored every last one of them.

The green-eyed girl found his attitude downright hilarious as she watched the crowd of girls swarming around him. His poker face was as stoic and expressionless as always, but when he glanced back at her for a second, she saw the message clear and bright in them.

Laughing, she got up and waltzed over, finding a strange, unreasonable joy in elbowing some of his fangirls out of the way, blissfully ignoring their glares and hisses of outrage.

She went up to his desk, and seized him by the wrist. Tezuka looked startled, but he complied and stood up nevertheless. Many of his fangirls cried out in dismay. "What are you doing to our Tezuka-kun?"

Rei flashed a brilliant, mirthful smile over her shoulder, flipping her hair in an obvious imitation of their attitudes. "I'm _very _sorry, but I need _Tezuka-kun _to come with me to the library. Better luck next time!" With that, she pulled Tezuka with her- not unwillingly- out of the classroom, and the girls were left dumbfounded behind.

Once they were outside, Tezuka inwardly sighed with relief. As they walked towards the library, he looked down and suddenly realized that his wrist was still firmly in her grip.

Rei realized around the same time as he did, she looked startled and sheepish. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to drag you along like that!" She quickly let go of his wrist, and Tezuka found, surprisingly, that he sort of missed the cool, gentle touch of her fingers.

Once they were in the library, Rei made a beeline for one of the bookshelves. Tezuka followed after her, curious about what book she was so keen on finding.

He found her looking around in the classical section- it was interesting, he hadn't expected her to be the type to be interested in classic books. She was searching the shelves for something- a title caught her eye, and she pulled the book out victoriously. "Found it!"

She held it out to Tezuka, and he looked at it with piqued curiosity. He realized that the book was _Much Ado About Nothing_, a Shakespeare romance that he wouldn't have chosen personally, but rather surprised him that Rei was reading.

"Romantic Shakespeare?"

Rei laughed and nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm a bit of a softie at heart for romance. I love this book- I must have read it a hundred times already!"

Tezuka nodded. "What do you like about it?"

The girl looked thoughtful. "Well, I think it's a good blend of comedy and romance- I really like that! I remember this one quote- _'I can see he's not in your good books,' said the messenger. 'No, and if he were I would burn my library.'_ When I read that, it made me laugh so hard, I rolled right out of bed and onto the floor!"

Tezuka found himself smiling reluctantly- he had to admit that line was funny. "Do you remember any other quotes, Rei?"

Rei smiled brightly, and leaned a bit closer, staring conspiratorially at him. "Don't tell Sora I'm reading this again, okay? She'll say it's a waste of time."

When he nodded, her smile widened and she said, "This is my favourite quote. It's _so _cheesy, but I love it all the same."

Tezuka nodded again, and Rei closed her eyes briefly as she recited the lines from the Shakespeare novel.

"_I do love nothing in the world so well as you- is not that strange?"_

_Click. _

Rei and Tezuka glanced up, startled, to see Fuji lowering his ever trusty camera with a conniving smile on his face. "Saa, I wonder if I can enter this into the competition?"

Tezuka felt like hitting himself in the face. "Fuji."

The tensai chuckled, clicking his tongue at Tezuka. "Ne, Tezuka, you know that you already approved this, don't you? You can't order me to delete the pictures today."

The expressionless third-year knew he was right. "Hn."

Rei was staring strangely at Fuji, eyes fixed on his camera. "Fuji-san…" she started slowly.

"Hmm? What is it, Wakanari?" he said teasingly.

"You aren't _serious _about entering the picture in the competition, are you?" Rei looked like she was clinging to her last hope of survival.

Fuji made a show of pretending to consider the question. "Saa…I suppose it depends on the quality of the other pictures I take…"

"Fuji-san!"

He laughed, before turning and making his way to the exit. "I'll see you two around later today, ne?"

Before he left, he turned back around to speak to Tezuka.

"By the way, Tezuka, I didn't realize how intimate you had gotten with Wakanari. Care to explain why you're calling her by her first name now?"

With a smile, Fuji was gone. Rei laughed uncomfortably next to Tezuka, who realized what he was talking about, and resisted the urge to slump his forehead onto the bookshelf in front of him.

What had he done to deserve such torment in his life?

* * *

By the end of the school day, many of the students were tired out. The day had been a frenzied jumble of chaos and confusion- camera flashes going off everywhere and anywhere, couples posing for shots, confessions, drama- everything that Valentine's Day should be.

Ryoma was completely worn out- he wanted nothing better than to just go home and sleep. Not to mention that he had that godforsaken dance that night.

He yawned widely, and was suddenly cut off when he heard a voice calling his name. "Ryoma-kun! Wait!"

Turning around, he saw Sakuno running up, panting and gasping for air. "What is it, Ryuzaki?"

She held out a small box wrapped in pale pink paper, still breathing heavily. "H-here! I made…this…for you…"

He took the gift, and eyed it cursorily. "Hm. Is this for Valentine's Day?"

Sakuno flushed pink with embarrassment, and looked down. "W-well, y-yes. But I made them f-for everyone! Tomo-chan, and Horio, and everyone else! B-but I mean-" She could have hit herself for her clumsy words. Ryoma must think she was a fool.

The boy looked at the box with a critical eye for a moment, and Sakuno held her breath with fear. Suddenly, "Thanks, Ryuzaki."

He curiously opened the box to see a row of neatly done chocolates with pink hearts iced on top. Ryoma had to admit they were pretty good. Cliché, perhaps, but good nonetheless. He cautiously picked one up, and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

Sakuno watched him nervously, chewing her fingernails. "I-is it okay, r-Ryoma-kun?"

He thought for a moment, and swallowed. Sakuno thought he was about to criticise her _again_, when he said thoughtfully, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

The freshman girl looked up hopefully, with a growing smile on her face. "R-really? Are you being serious?"

Ryoma licked his fingers- the chocolate _had _been good. "When am I not serious? Mada mada dane."

"r-Ryoma-kun!"

Meanwhile, not too far away, a similar thing was going on with Oishi and Sora, only with less stammering on Sora's part and a lot more on Oishi's.

The tennis vice-captain had been heading home to prepare for the dance that night, when he had been accosted by Sora, looking rather uncomfortable. She had taken out a box wrapped in gold paper, and given it to him while adjusting her glasses.

Oishi had immediately blushed a rosy red, and Sora found it amusing how he was so much more bashful than she was.

"Arigato, Sora-san," and he bowed in thanks, "this is very kind of you."

"No problem. And about tonight…Oishi, people are going to assume things." She looked meaningfully at him. "Are you sure about this?"

"Don't worry, it's just as friends. I…I don't like you _that _way." _Yet_, he silently added.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah…friends."

* * *

**A/N: **Finished at last! Again, all credit to _aehlta _for Tenshi- check out her story if you haven't already, uh, when it comes out! So this chapter was a bit of a cheesy mix of every pairing (most of them minor), sorry about that! But after the next chapter or so, the main focus will be back on Rei and Tezuka!

Please review, I really appreciate everyone who has been supporting this story since it was first published only just over a month ago- it seems like such a long time ago- and it's all thanks to you guys that I have managed to keep updating so frequently. Thank you so much! And for next chapter- the dance and the announcements!

*Sekihan- literally _red rice_. It's served for any celebratory occasion, and is usually sticky rice cooked with red bean, which gives the rice its distinctive red colour.

*Angel-kun: _Tenshi _means angel in Japanese, and according to _aehlta_, there is a reason for Tenshi being addressed with the prefix _–kun_. Just a note, Kasumi is her surname, or the interpretation of it. Want to find out, ask afore mentioned writer, not me.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Wild

**A/N: **Chapter Eleven is here, and the Valentine's Day dance! Thank you, thank you, and thank you so much to everyone who reviewed this story. Five thousand reads already! So this chapter is extra long as a thank you for everyone. Sorry about the overload of sweet cheesiness in this chapter- but it can't be helped! After this chapter, as I said in the previous one, the main focus of the story will be on Tezuka and Rei- partly because it _is _a TezukaOC story, and partly because Tenshi/Fuji belongs to _aehlta_, RyoSaku isn't my favourite pairing out there, Momo and Akira are a bit hard to write, and Oishi and Sora…well, they will turn up quite a bit too. My bad.

The quote from Shakespeare's _Much Ado About Nothing_ in the last chapter- _"I do love nothing in the world so well as you- is not that strange?"_, for those of you who have forgotten- I really liked it, so it may turn up later, and it has also been the inspiration for a one-shot companion piece for this story I am beginning. Look out for it!

This chapter is dedicated to _Savage Kill_, for her recent support for both this story, and my other story _Lost in Your Eyes_. Thank you so much! :) Also, thank you to _VanillaAnime _for drawing a lovely picture of Rei! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

A knock resounded throughout the apartment, and Rei stuck her head out of her bedroom, where she was at the time, and called out, "Who is it?"

When she couldn't hear a reply, she sighed and jogged over to open the door, to see her best friend standing outside, arms crossed and bags on her arm. Rei burst into a round of laughter at the disgruntled look on Sora's face.

"What are you laughing at, midget?"

"Hey, I'm not _that _much shorter than you! Just five centimetres, no big deal!"

Sora walked into the apartment, setting her bags down on the couch, and wiping her hands absently on her hoodie. "Sure, whatever floats your boat. So, what are we doing?"

Rei forgot the comeback on the tip of her tongue in an instant, and clapped her hands with a childish glee. "That's right! We have to get dressed for the dance!"

Sora glanced with a deadpan face towards the clock. "Rei. It's four. All sports practice was cancelled, remember? We have _hours_."

"Oh, right." Rei laughed sheepishly, and then exclaimed, "Well, then we can eat ice-cream and talk!"

"About?"

"I don't know, stuff!"

Sora laughed at this, finding it strangely hilarious. "Alright, then, we can talk about _stuff_."

In the meantime, Rei had opened the refrigerator and taken out a tub of ice-cream- she called out to Sora, "Choc-chip or vanilla?"

"Vanilla," Sora decided, after a moment's indecision. "I don't feel like I can handle the sight of more chocolate on Valentine's Day."

Rei laughed hysterically at this, as she brought the ice-cream over with two spoons. She jumped onto the couch next to Sora, and held out the container. "Want some?"

The blonde gave her a deadpan stare. "What do you think?"

Laughing, Rei handed it over to Sora, along with a spoon. The captain immediately began shovelling it into her mouth, and Rei sweatdropped at her best friend. "Um…ha ha…"

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing…"

Rei took a spoonful as well, swallowing it slowly, before a strange expression came across her face, and she lowered the spoon in her hand. Sora looked at her questioningly. "Rei, aren't you going to eat any more?"

"Nah…I've just remembered…I'm trying to go on a diet now…"

Sora gave her a look. "Rei, we've been through this before," she started. The dark-haired girl winced slightly at her tone, immediately backtracking. "You don't need to go on a diet! If you don't eat, how will you be able to play in a game?"

Rei nodded slowly, somehow not looking convinced. "Yeah…I guess…"

As Sora's penetrating stare became fixated, Rei finally gave in. "Alright, alright, I get your point! But just this once, okay?"

The blonde didn't seem satisfied, but she let it go and held out the container of ice-cream to her friend. "So eat already!"

Rei laughed, and the two of them dug in, enjoying the simple pleasure of eating and talking together.

* * *

Two hours later, Rei was tearing madly through the apartment, searching frantically for something, rummaging through and throwing things everywhere in her haste.

At a particularly loud crash as she sent a shoe flying, Sora stuck her head out of Rei's bedroom to see what the matter was. "Rei! What are you doing out there?"

"I…am looking…for…a safety pin!" Rei got out between breaths. Sora's look became deadpan- again- and she held up a box in her hand. "You _do _realize that I brought a pack with me, don't you?"

Rei turned and laughed sheepishly. "Ha ha…I suppose I should have expected that…"

She returned to the bedroom, and the two girls stood surveying the two dresses laid out carefully on the bed with critical eyes.

"I think my one needs to be adjusted a little on the straps…"

"Yeah…well, that's what the safety pins are for, right?"

After almost half an hour of fussing around, both of them were dressed, having helped each other with zippers and buttons whenever needed, and helping do each other's makeup- in Rei's case, mostly trying to get Sora to stay still enough.

Rei was standing behind Sora, a safety pin firmly held between her teeth as she carefully pinned another to secure the straps of Sora's dress.

The blonde girl attempted to watch over her shoulder warily. "Hey, watch where you're poking that thing."

Murmured, unintelligible words followed. "What did you say?"

Rei stepped back, and took the pin out from between her teeth. "I said, I will. And don't distract me while I have a pin in my mouth- what would happen if it slipped? Ugh, just imagining it…" She shuddered at the thought.

"Just fix it already!"

"Hai, hai, baka-buchou...I don't even know why I put up with you…"

"Say that again, and I'll throw you across the room."

But even as both of them playfully bantered, they had identical smiles on their faces, enjoying the moment they were sharing together.

Finally, Sora forcibly sat Rei down at the dressing table, despite her whining and protests of _Why do I have to? _"I'm going to do your hair whether you like it or not," she stated, "because I _know _that if I let you do it, you'll just do a boring old ponytail again."

At Rei's sudden look of sheepishness, she pressed, "Am I right?"

"…Tch, fine," Rei grumbled as she pulled off the elastic and shook her long hair out. "Don't do anything ridiculous, though. Like pigtails, for example."

"Just stop moving. And talking, while you're at it."

Surprisingly, for someone who hated dressing up and girly things in general, Sora was rather adept at hair styling. Her fingers were nimble and sure, expertly arranging strands and spinning stray wisps in place. After not a few rough yanks on Rei's hair whenever she moved, much to the dark-haired girl's annoyance, Sora was finally finished. "Alright, done. And don't- _what did I just say?_- _don't _touch your hair."

Rei pouted childishly at her friend, removing her hand from a wisp that was hanging on the side of her face. "But-"

"Just don't."

"Fine, then…" She looked in the mirror, and smiled happily. "Wow, it's amazing! Thank you for doing it! You're so much better than I am at this kind of stuff!"

Sora laughed while her hands were occupied with twisting her own shorter blonde hair into a braided crown at the back of her head. "I knew _that _without you telling me. It goes without saying."

Rei stuck her tongue out childishly and busied herself with slipping her feet into a pair of simple black flats, while her hands were busy adjusting the strap of her dress. Sora was preoccupied with giving the final touches to her hair, before putting on her shoes as well and grabbing her phone from the counter where it lay.

Frowning at a text on her phone, she glanced at Rei with a look of concern on her face. "Come on, we don't want to be late. My sister's driving us there, but are you fine walking home by yourself? It is going to be late…"

Rei waved a dismissive hand at her, with her usual careless smile on her face. "I'll be fine, there's no need to baby me around. You're not my mother, you know."

Suddenly, she seemed to realize what she had inadvertently said, and she fell silent, hand involuntarily going to touch the plain silver necklace that hung around her neck.

Sora seemed to understand exactly what she was thinking. The blonde girl's normally no-nonsense expression softened into one of understanding and sympathy, and she reached over and on impulse, unexpectedly hugged Rei, murmuring, "Hey, it's going to be alright" in her ear.

The two of them stood there for a moment, before Rei finally pulled away, looking better with a smile on her face. "Thanks, Sora."

"What are friends for?" In the space of a few seconds, Sora had reigned in her brief show of sentiment and her brisk, strict expression was back. "Now, hurry up, Shouka-nee-san isn't going to wait for long."

The dark-haired girl laughed cheerfully, hand tucking the two rings on the chain around her neck back out of sight. "Yeah, we wouldn't want that happening, would we?"

The sound of laughter and joking echoed around the empty apartment long after they were gone, the memories of good times from long years past ringing silently in the dark.

* * *

Akira was already at the dance- or at least, outside the gym in which it was being held. She felt uncomfortable about being in there- first, because it was the _gym_. It was beyond weird to see the place where she played basketball every day decked out for a _high school dance_.

And second, there was no one she knew there yet, and she certainly wouldn't go in unless she had to.

Shifting uncomfortably, she tugged on the edge of the black dress she was wearing. Of course she would go with black.

She never wore dresses unless she was forced to- in this case, her brother had made her wear one. _You have to be an actual girl at a dance_, she mimicked mockingly, but without anger, in her head. God, he could be _so _annoying sometimes.

The dress was attracting a lot of strange glances- it was completely in Akira's style, and that usually meant it wasn't to other people's taste. With the black material with laced up corset-style sides, and deliberately slashed sleeves and hem, and the red streaked pattern, it was definitely what others would call gothic. Or punk. Or emo, for that matter.

It wasn't like Akira cared what other people said. She never had.

"Hey, punk cherry! Over here!" She turned to the familiar voice of Shizuka calling her, a smirk already tugging at her lips reluctantly. The small, brown-haired girl was jogging over to her- well, jogging as well as she could in heels- with a grin on her face.

As soon as she was close enough to hear, Akira drawled out, "Oi, _baka risu_, wipe that idiotic grin off your face. It suits you too much."

Shizuka seemed like she was in too good a mood to get angry at her long time friendly rival. "Are you waiting for someone? I'm waiting for Ryou-senpai to turn up, he told me he would meet me here." She glanced expectantly at Akira. "Do you have a partner?"

The red-haired girl snorted and looked away mock-contemptuously, with a small smile creeping onto her face. "What do you think, idiot?"

"Ha ha, there's no way someone would ask you…wait, WHAT?" She yelled out at the red-head's silence. "Someone asked you, didn't they!"

"Che, figure it out for yourself."

Shizuka, still only up to Akira's shoulder despite her heels, tried to plead with her fellow second-year. "Come on, punk, tell me! I really really REALLY want to know? Who is it? Is he in our year? Did you ask him, or did he ask you? When-"

Akira was beginning to look seriously annoyed. "Oi, shut it, squirrel." After a few more minutes of Shizuka's begging and pleading, she finally relented, a secret smile of triumph on her face. She had everything under control. "Well, if you must know…"

The small girl leant forward on her toes, bouncing eagerly in anticipation of finally knowing what boy had dared to ask Kurenai Akira herself to the dance.

"Yo, Kurenai!"

"…he's right behind you."

Shizuka spun around suddenly, shrieking in fright as Momoshiro jumped back, just as startled. "Okay…I did _not _expect that…"

"Y-you! You mean…_you and h-HIM_? Why _him _out of all people? When? What? How?"

Akira grinned ferally at Shizuka's utter bewilderment. "Surprise, idiot."

Momoshiro looked confusedly between them. "Wait…what's going on?"

"Momoshiro!" Shizuka rounded on him, and he backed away nervously. "Since when did you like that punk cherry over there?"

"Isn't that thinking too far ahead?" Akira muttered under her breath, but neither of them heard her- or if Shizuka did, she ignored it.

She took another menacing step towards Momoshiro, prodding a finger at his chest. "You're such a liar! Didn't you ask me first! What-"

Suddenly, Akira got a strange _glint _in her eyes, and she snorted with laughter. "Nagasaki, you're really…" She broke out laughing again, and the other two second-years stared at her weirdly.

Akira finally looked at Shizuka, the effect from the excessive laughing fading off. "Are you actually _jealous_, _baka risu_?"

The effect on Shizuka was immediate. She immediately turned bright red, and began stuttering out a half-strangled yell of surprised indignation. "_I do not-! _What the hell, you punk, you wanna go-?"

It seemed to have dawned on Momoshiro as well. He suddenly burst out laughing, attracting stares from both of them. "HA HA HA! Nagasaki, that was priceless!"

"…what did you say, baka peach?"

"Hey, when did you start imitating Mamushi? Don't do it, it doesn't suit you and your face!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY-?"

* * *

"Have fun, you two, alright?" Shouka waved from the driver's seat as Sora and Rei climbed out and walked towards the gates of the school. The blonde turned and waved back to her older sister, while Rei flashed a smile over her shoulder.

"We will, Nee-san, don't worry about us! I'll be walking home, alright?"

The car reversed, and then sped off as the two of them walked through the gates of Seigaku. They weren't the only ones- many students were beginning to drift leisurely, one by one, towards the gym where the dance was being held.

Sora irritably pulled on the strap of her shoe again- really, her feet were already beginning to blister from the barely two-centimetre high heel, how was she supposed to get through the whole night? "Damn heels, already hurting like hell."

Rei laughed at this. "That's why you wear flats, like me!" She held a small foot out for inspection, prompting a snort from Sora.

"Yeah, well, I would have if I could find a pair that matched my dress. And _someone _insisted on finding a pair of _gold _shoes to match…" She glared playfully at her friend, who flipped her hair in an imitation of a fangirl, and stuck her nose haughtily into the air.

"Hn, I wouldn't have _any _idea what you are talking about, peasant."

"That sounded uncannily like Atobe Keigo, Wakanari." The two of them turned around to see Fuji standing there behind them with his customary smile on his face.

"Fuji-san…_you found a partner_?"

His eyes crinkled with the widening smile on his face. "Saa…Igarashi-san, there's no need to sound so surprised. I'm hurt."

"Yeah, sure you are, like the sadistic tensai you are."

While Sora and Fuji began their argument afresh, Rei let her eyes wander over to the girl standing next to Fuji. She vaguely recognized her- maybe they had passed each other in the corridor at some point? With her boyish, black hair and dead brown eyes, she rather scared Rei. There was just something about her that sent a shiver up Rei's spine.

Still, she decided, she couldn't just judge people by their appearances. So she put on a friendly smile and walked over to the other girl, who just stared at her blankly. "Hi, I'm Wakanari Rei, third-year. And you are…?"

"You, are?"

Rei was confused. The other girl's words by no means answered her question, and her oddly fractured way of speaking was strange. She figured that she wasn't very good at Japanese, since she had a noticeably heavy accent. "I mean, what's your name?"

The girl seemed to understand this time. "Name, Kasumi."

Meanwhile, Fuji seemed to have noticed during his bantering with Sora. He patted the girl on the shoulder, looking at Rei with a smile.

"Ne, Wakanari, this is Tenshi-kun, although she'll probably want you to call her Kasumi-kun. Tenshi-kun, this is Wakanari Rei."

"I, know. Told, me."

Although Rei was struggling to understand Tenshi's broken Japanese, Fuji seemed to have no problem listening to his partner. He smiled. "Saa, well, we should be heading in soon." He glanced over Rei's shoulder, and his smile widened that sadistic inch more. "And it seems someone is looking for you."

Rei was just turning around when Tezuka caught sight of her.

He had been walking from home towards the school gates, enjoying the peace while it lasted. He knew that the night was going to be hectic chaos, and he was not looking forward to that part of the evening.

But to the actual dance, he wasn't averse to the idea.

Heading into the school, he had walked to the gym, and there, had talked to several members of the student council who had been responsible for organizing the event. Sora and Oishi hadn't been there, as they were not responsible for the actual event taking place.

After finishing up the talk, he headed back out, this time with the purpose of finding Rei, and while he was at it, anyone else he knew. He had already found Inui, who had come alone, and Oishi, who was conveniently looking for Sora.

They had been walking across the courtyard again when he had heard the voice of a certain tensai speaking, and turned his head that way just as Oishi pointed out, "Oh, Sora-san and Wakanari-san are over there with Fuji!"

Tezuka caught sight of Rei just as she was turning around, her long hair swirling around her face as she turned and saw him.

He hadn't known what green was like until he saw her eyes.

Up until now, he hadn't been able to pinpoint what precise shade of green her eyes were- of course he had known what it looked like when she was in front of him, but he had never figured out exactly what shade they were.

Suddenly, a word came into his head, like a missing puzzle piece that he had finally found. _Chartreuse*, _he thought, and the word sounded as though it had been made for this moment.

Rei had seen him now- her eyes had widened and the uneven smile had broken out on her face again. "Tezuka-san, you're here!"

"Aa." He walked over to her, glancing at Fuji and Tenshi, the tensai smiling his sadistic, all-knowing smile at him, before turning back to her. "Rei."

She was looking very different to usual- not in a bad way. The pale, icy green dress she was wearing only served to make her eyes look darker than usual, and her long hair was arranged in a delicate-looking, intricate updo.

Rei was a little- just slightly- startled by how good Tezuka managed to look in casual clothes. Sure, he already had girls swooning over his looks left and right, just in his school uniform- but she had not anticipated that he would look _this _good.

It was funny how good a simple white collared shirt and a pair of black pants could look on a boy.

Really, it was almost _unfair _how easily he could look good- without even _trying_! Whereas she had to put in so much effort to-

She cut herself off in the middle of that thought. Since when had she, queen of _I-don't-care_ and _what's-it-to-me_ nonchalance, started caring so much about things like this?

But the thought was forgotten when Tezuka spoke. "You…" A certain question immediately jumped into her mind, but she was left slightly disappointed when he continued after the brief hesitation. "You came with Igarashi-san?"

She nodded brightly, easy smile on her face as usual. "Yeah, her older sister drove us here!"

Tezuka dipped his head, and then, "Are you going back home with her?"

"Actually, now you bring it up, no! She can't come and pick us up, so we're both walking home separately…"

At this point in the conversation, a certain tensai surreptitiously leaned over Tezuka's shoulder and whispered teasingly in his ear, "Ne, Tezuka, you should walk her home after the dance. Girls shouldn't have to walk home at night by themselves, you know?"

And then he was gone, just in time for Rei to look expectantly at Tezuka. He showed no sign of irritation on his face, although in his head, he was already thinking about how many laps to give Fuji around _Japan_.

Although, he had to admit the tensai was right. But he decided that it was not the right time to ask such a question. Not now.

Instead, he just nodded, and then glanced over his shoulder at the entrance of the gym. He could see pairs who had already met beginning to head inside, and he knew that they would have to follow suit.

"We should go in." It was a statement, not a question, but the manner with which he looked questioningly at Rei said it all for him. Her smile tilted slightly, and she laughed.

"Yeah, we should. Come on, we don't want to get left behind!"

She walked off, and Tezuka followed her closely, just far enough behind her to let her take the lead, but close enough to still be walking alongside her.

They walked in a relative, but comfortable, silence towards the gym, Rei watching the other pairs- Sora especially- with a fond smile and a sparkle in her eyes, and Tezuka watching her.

"You look nice tonight."

Rei smiled softly at the quiet, awkward compliment, despite _knowing_ and telling herself that it really meant nothing. Just between friends.

* * *

Oishi walked next to Sora with a smile, scarcely able to believe his eyes at the girl. Sora was looking very different that night- in her black knee-length dress and with her blonde hair not severely tied back in a ponytail, she was a very different person, at least in terms of appearance.

"Sora-san?" She looked around at this. "Oh, Oishi. You look great tonight, by the way." The casual compliment immediately set Oishi's cheeks on fire.

"A-ah-! That is- thank you…I mean-! Y-you look nice too!"

Sora laughed at his confusion and stammered compliment, and patted companionably him on the shoulder. "You don't have to worry so much, Oishi. It's just a dance."

* * *

Ryoma had to admit that Sakuno looked rather nice.

He had been talking- well, _he _had been tolerating them- with his fellow teammates, and he had known something was different when Momoshiro and Kikumaru's eyes widened and they broke out into identical evil smirks.

He was even more certain of it when they had simultaneously seized him by the shoulders and _heaved _him towards someone walking behind him.

The first thing he felt was someone clutching at his shirt as he staggered back, both of them flailing around to regain their balance.

"Ryuzaki?"

Cat calls and whistling from the watching tennis regulars sent Sakuno's cheeks burning hotly, so much that her face felt like it was giving off steam.

"Ano…r-Ryoma-kun!"

"Echizen, kiss her already!" yelled Momoshiro with a loud whistle, and the boys behind them cheered and laughed loudly. Sakuno felt her cheeks turn even more red, if that was even humanly possible.

Of course, Ryoma just stuck his nose into the air, cheeks faintly pink. "Yadda." But he secretly thought that Sakuno _was _very pretty that night, although he didn't particularly like the pink dress and matching shoes she was wearing.

"Hee hee, Ochibi has grown up! That's our little boy!"

"Shut up, Eiji-senpai!"

Sakuno felt slightly disappointed, although also slightly relieved. Ryoma…didn't want to kiss her?

After a while, the regulars eventually gave up on pestering the freshmen, and the two of them were left to their own devices. Ryoma seemed intent on looking anywhere but Sakuno, who was looking extremely embarrassed.

"…You look nice," he got out reluctantly, but Sakuno could hear a smile in his voice.

"r-Really? Do you t-think so?" Sakuno looked hopeful, and her eyes were wide and a smile was creeping onto her face.

"…but your hair's still too long."

"Ryoma-kun!"

* * *

Two hours and seven glasses of lemonade later, Rei was absolutely exhausted.

Dances and parties had never really been her thing in the first place, but the deafening noise at _this _dance was really beyond comprehension. Fortunately, most of her time had been spent between Tezuka and their friends- some of it in dancing, but mostly just talking and laughing on the sidelines.

There was no telling what her carelessness would do on the dance floor.

She was feeling crowded in and trapped in the hot, stuffy gym- it was strange, seeing a place which she normally found free and releasing so crowded and sweaty.

From beside her, Tezuka silently handed her another glass of lemonade, and she looked up in pleasant surprise, having not expected him to return so soon from talking to Oishi at the drinks table.

She smiled gratefully at him, and took the drink, carefully wrapping her fingers around the cool glass and taking a long sip.

"_May I have your attention please, everyone!_" A voice echoed out in a microphone, and the crowd of teenagers gradually fell silent after a lull of murmuring and whispers. Everyone's attention turned towards the stage, where they saw Aida, the assistant publicity director, grinning not in the least nervously in the bright lights.

"_I am very pleased to announce that the final results of today's Valentine's Day competition are in!_"

Raucous cheering and excited shouts at this. Many of the girls were looking almost hysterical with anticipation, and even many of the boys were looking eager.

"_First of the winners- the cutest couple!_" Squeals could be heard, and literally everyone was leaning forward silently with their breaths held, waiting for the announcement. Aida pressed something in her hand, and a screen lit up white and blank above his head, projected onto the wall.

"_And the winner for the cutest couple is…_" He trailed off, just as the screen lit up with a photo. For a moment, everyone was silent. And then the screaming began.

On the screen was Sakuno, just sitting up from falling on Ryoma, and the boy leaning back on his elbows as he struggled to sit up. Both of them had blushes evident on their cheeks, and they were looking at each other.

Sakuno immediately flushed tomato red, and she covered her face with her hands. She could feel Tomoka holding a vice grip around her neck, squealing with joy. "I knew it, I knew it, I just _knew _it!"

Ryoma merely adjusted his cap- why he was wearing a hat indoors anyway, no one knew, or cared- and lowered it over his face, attempting to hide the light pink that had crept into his cheeks. Half the tennis regulars immediately pounced on him, as well as his three friends, ruffling his hair, slapping his back, and cheering obnoxiously loud in his ears.

"Echizen, I'm proud of you, my man! Teach me how to catch girls like you do, eh?"

"ECHIZEN! GOOD ON YOU!"

"Brat, how dare you become such a ladies' man!"

"_Congratulations to Osakada Tomoka for your winning entry! And to Echizen Ryoma and Ryuzaki Sakuno for your adorable chemistry!" _More squealing and whistling at this.

"Tomo-chan! How could you enter it after I told you not to?!"

"But _Sa-ku-no_! You two were so _cute _together, I couldn't resist! AND I WON!" She danced around, completely oblivious to Sakuno's acute embarrassment.

After a few announcements of categories like _most flirtatious couple _and _most hilarious couple_, another category was announced.

"_And the next category is 'Couple Most in Love'!_" Girls shrieked in excitement at that one, and everyone held their breath in anticipation again.

"_The winner is…_" Aida deliberately trailed off questioningly, and then the screen lit up again, this time with two photographs side by side.

"_TEZUKA-KUN! WHY?_"

"_That's right, the winner is Tezuka Kunimitsu, indifferent darling of the ladies, and Wakanari Rei! Congratulations to Fuji Shuusuke on your winning entry!_"

Tezuka was rather shocked- although he really should have expected it. Fuji was going to be running his legs off the next day.

Rei was absolutely speechless. No words came to her as she stared at the photographs projected onto the screen.

In one of them, she saw herself, standing very close to Tezuka, her eyes lowered to the book in her hands and a small smile on her face. She recognized the library- it must have been the photo Fuji took while she and Tezuka were talking about Shakespeare.

Speaking of which, Tezuka was watching her in the photo with what looked like a small smile on his face, and looking down at her bent head.

Rei covered her face in embarrassment at the photograph, peeking through her fingers with increasing horror as she saw the second photograph.

In it, she was holding Tezuka's wrist- she knew where it had been taken- but from the angle of the photograph, it looked like she was holding his hand!

God, it was embarrassing.

Half of the girls in the room were squealing at how adorable the two of them were together- the other half were screaming with dismay that their dear _Tezuka-kun _had been taken, as they thought.

She could feel her face literally on fire- the stares and whispers of almost the entire gym was getting to her. Beside her, Rei felt Tezuka shift uncomfortably, still standing quite close to her.

Tezuka directed his harsh gaze towards Fuji, zeroing in on the tensai standing with Tenshi over by the food table, angelic smile already set firmly in place.

Luckily for Fuji- and Rei and Tezuka- the announcer was already saying something again, frowning at someone who whispered into her ear, before turning back to the crowd.

"_Attention, please! We have just received word of a late winner- the officially weirdest couple is…_"

This was the first winner that everyone was praying they wouldn't be; it was clearly a joke that had been deliberately held back.

"_Fuji Shuusuke and…Kasumi Tenshi_?" Aida seemed rather confused about who Tenshi actually was. "_Anyway, congratulations to…Kikumaru Eiji!_"

On the screen, Fuji had his head turned to the side and was chuckling at something, while Tenshi looked extremely bored and annoyed at whatever he had just said.

"Hoi hoi!" Kikumaru was looking very pleased with himself, and his fellow tennis regulars slapped him on the back, laughing at his achievement. "So someone finally called out Fuji! You go, Eiji-senpai!"

Fuji just smiled, as if he had been going with the plan all along. "Saa, so Eiji took a photo of us together? I must congratulate him on his improved photography skills."

But Tenshi wasn't so pleased. "What."

* * *

After the dance had finally finished, the students lingered in the entrance of the gym and the courtyard, talking excitedly about the success of the year's Valentine's Day.

The tennis regulars stood slightly off to the side, away from the majority of the crowd and the noise. Tezuka just ignored the joking and teasing comments of his teammates, glancing at Rei who was standing nearby with her friends, looking very embarrassed.

Fuji was getting a lot of slaps on the back and pats on the shoulder, and he seemed to be taking it all in stride, smiling at everything directed at him.

"Hey, Fuji, good job on winning!" Momoshiro yelled, as he directed a sneaky glance towards their captain, who just studiously ignored all of them.

"Um, bad time to be interrupting?"

Sora and the rest of the basketball team had come over, except for Shizuka, who was talking with a good-looking third-year. Akira smirked when she saw Momoshiro discreetly peek at them.

Rei smiled at Tezuka, and he nodded back, adjusting his glasses with his right hand. Sora had made a beeline for Oishi, and was asking him something under her breath.

The dark-haired vice-captain looked up at Tezuka. "Tezuka-san, are you walking home?"

"Yes, I am." He remembered Fuji's words from beforehand echoing softly in the back of his mind.

"_Ne, Tezuka, you should walk her home after the dance. Girls shouldn't have to walk home at night by themselves, you know?"_

As much as he didn't want to admit it, the tensai was right. Any proper gentleman would offer to walk the girl home, especially this late at night. And he _did _pride himself on his proper, and traditional upbringing, courtesy of his strict grandfather.

Besides, there was something he thought he might want to show Rei on the way back.

At that moment, Rei was just saying goodbye to Sora and a few others, saying, "I need to get going, or I'll be late. See you all tomorrow!"

As she turned away to start walking home, Tezuka said quietly, "I'll walk you home."

Her eyes widened fractionally. "Oh, no, that's fine, you don't have to-" But Tezuka was already walking towards the gates, glancing expectantly over his shoulder at her. She smiled exasperatedly, secretly thankful for his strict sense of manners, and followed him.

The two of them were soon alone, walking along the street in a comfortable silence again. Out of the corner of his eye, Tezuka noticed Rei shivering slightly in the chilly night air, breath clouding as she huffed. Silently, he took off his jacket, ignoring the sudden snap of the cold, and without a word, offered it to her.

Rei just looked at it, then looked up at him. "Really?"

"Really."

She smiled at his familiar reply, and took the jacket gratefully, slipping her arms into the sleeves and wrapping the too-big garment about her.

After a few minutes of walking, Tezuka suddenly interrupted the quiet with a question. "May I show you something?"

Rei looked surprised, but smiled and nodded. "Sure, I have time."

Tezuka led her past her home- she was surprised at this sudden request- and they walked for a minute or so up the street. Just as the nagging pain in her feet was beginning to sharpen, Tezuka stopped, and she almost walked right into his back.

"Here." He led her through a small gate, and they went through. Rei found herself in a small park, lit dimly by lamps hung in the trees. She saw a set of swings, creaking softly in the cold breeze, and a glint of water shining darkly in the light through the trees.

"I found this place while I was walking home from the tennis courts nearby." She looked swiftly at Tezuka, who was staring at the park.

"It's beautiful," Rei whispered, and then she bent over slightly and slipped her shoes off. She barely managed to repress a sigh of relief as she put her foot down onto the cool, damp grass. Tezuka looked questioningly at her.

"Flats hurt, you know. Almost as much as high heels do."

He nodded, although he didn't really know what she was talking about, and after hesitating for a moment, reached his hand behind her head, and deftly pulled out the two pins that were holding her hair in place. Rei's long, wavy hair tumbled out loosely, falling over her shoulders. She looked at him in surprise.

"I like it better this way."

Without any further explanation, he gestured for her to follow him as he made his way along the worn pathway through the trees. Rei followed him with a smile on her face, barefoot tread not making a sound.

Her curiosity was growing as she followed him- what could be in here that he wanted to show to her so much?

And then they came out of the trees, and Rei gasped softly at the sight before her.

In front of them was a small pond, an ordinary fishpond that would have seemed not worth a second glance if it weren't for the glinting coins in it. Rei realized that it was one of those ponds into which people toss coins for luck and good fortune.

Tezuka stopped at the edge of the pond, staring at the scattered dull gold and silver coins at beneath the rippling water, fish darting lazily around. "I first found out about my arm a few months ago." His hand involuntarily came up to touch his arm.

Although he had never told Rei before, she had heard rumours of the famed Seigaku tennis captain having an injury from freshman year come up again.

It wasn't like she didn't know what it felt like- the knee that had been re-damaged in the game against Iwaki had been a former injury too. But even she couldn't imagine what it would be like to know that it was your arm or tennis.

Tezuka continued. "I came here, to where so many people have come to make wishes or seek good fortune for their dreams- to try and find out for myself whether it was worth it to sacrifice my arm for tennis."

He looked at Rei, and gestured to the rocks surrounding the pond. She frowned in confusion, and knelt down to have a closer look. She realized that what she had thought were scuff marks were actually wishes and prayers of others, carved and scratched into the rocks.

_I wish to find my true love…I wish my father would recover from cancer…Please help my sister to come home soon…_

"And I came here, and carved my own wish on the rocks."

Tezuka knelt down beside her, searching among the countless kanji markings before pointing at a short message carved near the edge of the water. Rei strained to make the words out.

_Never give up_.

Rei almost smiled at the Tezuka-style comment. But she was touched- touched that he had the courage to keep on pursuing his ambition and dream, and touched that he had shown it to her.

The two of them just knelt there, next to the pond, before Rei pulled a pocket knife out of her dress pocket. She stood up and moved a metre or so away, kneeling before a different rock and busy carving something into it.

Tezuka watched her, not without curiosity, but he had the feeling that she didn't want anyone to see it yet.

Finally, Rei finished whatever she had been writing, and she stood up, brushing her dress off and coming back over to him with a smile. "Let's go."

He stood as well, and for a moment, both of them stared at the rocks with countless carved messages of hope for the future, and the pond with the glinting evidence of so many wishes.

Rei turned to Tezuka, a small coin in her hand. "Tezuka-san, let's make a promise together."

He waited to hear what she would say, an idea already creeping into his mind. "Let's stay strong, shall we?"

He had never found her smile more genuine and beautiful than at that moment. His expression softened, and Rei smiled even more as she slipped her hand into his, and with the other, tossed the coin into the pond.

They hadn't realized their feelings for each other. Not yet, anyway. But both of them felt the connection between them, and it was something that would only grow stronger as the years came.

The coin shone dully in the dim lamplight, a reminder of the past, and a promise for the future.

* * *

**A/N: **The cheesiness is finally brought to an end! :D I thought I would end on a romantic, sentimental, poetic note, just for kicks. Just remember- that message Rei carved onto the rock in that last scene will be important, and it _will _turn up later! Anyway, next chapter, I believe, will include part of the tennis match with Hyotei (just Tezuka's, I think, he _is _the main character here) and some more sweet scenes, perhaps? :P

I've decided- the one-shot spinoff _Nothing So Well _will be set five years after Tezuka leaves for Germany to play professional tennis, and it will probably be published after this story is complete. It _may _(hint hint) include a certain person asking another certain someone a _very _interesting question (hint hint again)…guess away!

Oh, and next week is my birthday, so I will try to update then as a gift to myself :P So if you want to wish me a happy birthday...

Please, pretty please, review! I really love it so much when people do- it makes me feel wanted and like a good writer of stories that people like to read! So review for more love! Or else I won't update and I will go on a _long _hiatus… (blackmail haha :D)

*Chartreuse is a shade of green, but just note that the shade I was thinking of was more a forest green- that was too mainstream, though. The word just sounded cool :)


	13. Chapter Twelve: Tumultous

**A/N: **I'm back, with Chapter Twelve, and well and truly into the second week back at school! Okay, so today is a very special day…it's my birthday! :P Anyway, I decided to update as a gift to you all, so please please PLEASE review. As a present to me? –puppy dog eyes- Haha, anyway, you don't have to, but I would really appreciate it if you did, your support means so much to me when you review. So enjoy the chapter! Special mentions to _aehlta__, _who has just published her story _There are No Stars in Tokyo, _featuring Tenshi, and with which _Shattered Fragments _will become a collaboration fanfic! If you haven't read it yet, go and give it a try!

To those reviewers who wished me a happy birthday- _VanillaAnime, RockPrincess410, Savage Kill, _and _GlaresThatKill_, thank you all so much!

This chapter is dedicated to…well, myself. It's my fifteenth birthday, after all! And to all of my friends for making today a wonderful day!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

The next day was hectic- there was really no other word that was capable of describing the situation at Seigaku that day.

The minute- literally- that Tezuka had stepped foot inside the school gates, he had been almost swamped by a crowd of fangirls, many of whom had tears streaming down their faces.

"Tezuka-kun! Why her?"

"She's not good enough for you! Why don't you break up with her and go out with someone better?"

"Oh, like you?"

Tezuka felt the sudden urge to massage his temples again to relieve the pounding headache that had already started up. Why couldn't school be the calm, peaceful, _study-friendly _environment it was supposed to be?

He was currently sitting in the library, enjoying the temporary peace and quiet, and praying that no fangirl would come in to brave the wrath of the librarian and disturb him.

"It's your fault you have your good looks, you know." As if reading his thoughts on cue, Sora had materialized from thin air beside him, uniform picture perfect as she adjusted her glasses.

"Igarashi-san." It was a greeting, but it came out almost like a question. Sora glanced half-amusedly at him.

"Well, it's true. If you weren't as good-looking as you are, these fangirls wouldn't give you a second glance."

She was fortunate it was Tezuka, or he would have been turning red on the spot. As it was, she merely continued coolly and methodically. "I mean, your personality isn't what you'd call sociable, and you're not really what I called interested in girls, correct?"

All of these were seemingly unintentional blows that glanced right off Tezuka's poker face. He just stared at her blankly, adjusting his glasses. "What do you mean, Igarashi-san?"

"Well, simply put, you're as dense as a rock."

Sora's bluntness surprised even Tezuka mildly. He hadn't expected her to say something like that. "Igarashi, what are you trying to say?"

The blonde girl looked at him without any humour in her eyes, but surprisingly, no hostility either. "I'm here to ask you what your intentions with Rei are."

"…"

Seeing that Tezuka wasn't going to be answering any time soon without a sufficient explanation, Sora sighed. "Look, I don't have any problem with whatever you choose to call your relationship-"

At Tezuka's look of mild surprise, she continued. "-don't tell me you're just friends or something, I honestly don't really care." Her expression hardened. "But I'm just telling you to take care of Rei."

He hadn't been expecting that- what he had thought she was going to say was more along the lines of _upset her and I'll kill you_.

Sora's expression was serious, and rather sad. "Rei's had a lot of trouble in her life, especially with men. She's not as carefree and strong as she seems. That's all. So take care of her."

Tezuka's poker face softened slightly, and he simply said, "Aa." _I will_.

Sora smiled with what looked like a relieved expression. But then she adjusted her glasses deliberately, and suddenly, she looked a whole lot more evil and intimidating. The sudden change was rather startling. "But if I get even _one _hint that you've upset her…" She didn't even need to finish her sentence for Tezuka to get the drift.

"Aa."

So it turned out that _upset her and you're dead_ had been what she was going to say all along.

She smiled at him. "So, do you feel like coming out of your hiding hole anytime soon? Your fangirls are kicking up an uproar."

"Hn."

At that moment, they heard the door open, and both automatically tensed, Sora looking ready to make a speedy getaway if it was a fangirl.

But luckily for both of them- especially Tezuka- it was Rei, blinking confusedly at the two of them. "Wait, wha-"

"It's not what you're thinking," Sora immediately said, pushing her glasses up her nose. Rei looked even more confused.

"…how do you know what I'm thinking?"

The blonde girl shook her head. "I know that look on your face- don't even _think _about going further down that line of thought-"

"What thought? All I was thinking about was what you two were doing alone in here-"

"_Don't _put those disturbing thoughts in my head!"

Tezuka had no clue what was going on, and while he didn't move, his eyes darted from one girl to another, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

Rei was laughing, and even Sora, the strict captain, had a wide smile on her face as they bantered back and forth. Their friendship was something else, something that Tezuka had rarely seen before.

Finally, the basketball captain had had enough. "Alright, alright, I get the point. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." With a deliberate quirk of the eyebrows at Rei, she left the library, casting significant glances over her shoulder at both of them.

When she was gone, Rei looked bewilderedly at Tezuka, who was feeling just as confused as she looked. "What was that about?"

Honestly, he had no idea.

* * *

Fuji was enjoying himself immensely. Or so it seemed.

Combined with the multitude of congratulations he was getting for catching Tezuka off guard, he was definitely flourishing in the midst of the tears and indignant cries from his fangirls- and boys- who crowded around him.

"Fuji-kun! When did you get a girlfriend?"

"Tenshi-kun isn't my girlfriend," he smiled in the direction of the speaker. Almost immediately, another question was fired at him like a gunshot.

"Is it true that you like that…_tomboy_, Fuji-san?"

"Saa…now that is a matter for my own concern." He just smiled mysteriously and glanced deliberately at Kikumaru, a few seats away, who wanted to shrink and melt through the ground at the sadistic look the tensai cast over to him.

He knew that he wasn't going to get away with spreading the rumours with his big mouth, and Fuji knew that he knew.

Not a good situation to be in.

But, Kikumaru mused thoughtfully, maybe it was worth the pain that he would have to suffer through after. After all, that winning entry _had _been very funny.

Fuji, to his disappointment, had not reacted to the photos or the rumours circulating around the school as Kikumaru had wanted and expected him to. But then again, the tensai never reacted with surprise- it was as though he had been planning this all along.

Kikumaru would almost-_ almost_- prefer to drink Inui Juice over having this terrifying suspense hang over him as Fuji's smile widened.

The red-haired boy was lost in his musings about what would happen to him when Fuji finally got away from his fangirls and approached him with his trademark angelic smile on his face. "Ne, Eiji?"

"Huh, what- F-Fujiko!"

At the look in the tensai's eyes, Kikumaru gulped nervously and scrambled back into his seat. "He he, come on Fujiko, what's the big deal…"

Fuji didn't say anything condemning, or even remotely related to what Kikumaru was thinking about, but his light words still sent a shiver down his spine. "Saa…Eiji, what are you doing this afternoon?"

"…OISHI! SAVE ME FROM FUJI!"

Meanwhile, in another classroom-

"Sora-san, did you hear someone calling me?"

"…no."

* * *

You would think that one National-level player would acknowledge another.

But that was not even close to the intense, drawn-out battle that was taking place between Tezuka and Atobe of Hyotei.

"_Katsu wa no Hyotei! Katsu wa no Atobe!_"

Tomoka shook her fist indignantly at the cheering Hyotei students, who clearly and vastly outnumbered the Seigaku spectators. "Give us the respect we deserve, you losers! _Come on Tezuka-senpai!_"

The game count was at two all, and already, Rei was beginning to feel the effect of watching similar to a marathon somehow combined with a sprint. She wasn't even playing, and she was on the very edge of her seat, hands clenched and her nails digging painfully into the heels of the palms.

It was Atobe serving now, and Rei bit her lip as he whipped an incredibly fast serve towards Tezuka, waiting on the other end of the court. The tension momentarily left her shoulders, only to return even more greatly when Tezuka hit it back, aiming directly for the left corner. Atobe appeared in front of it, moving as soon as Tezuka's racket made contact, ready to return the shot.

The constant hollow bounce of the ball as the two players ran around the court, each attempting to corner the other, was beginning to get on Rei's nerves.

And the match was, potentially, not even half way done yet.

Rei drummed her fingers nervously on the railing in front of her, sitting in the front row with some of the tennis regulars, and Sora beside her. Fuji had invited them to sit there, surprisingly, and although Rei had misgivings about the strange smile he had been giving her when he asked, she had accepted anyway.

Besides, what was the worst he could do? Push her over the railing?

So she just sat there, head almost beginning to spin with the incredible tension of the progressing match, eyes fixed upon the match, almost mesmerized, as everyone else was, by the display of brilliant tennis before her.

She caught her breath sharply as Atobe hit a particularly dangerous forehand towards an unguarded, empty area of the court, only to sigh in relief as Tezuka appeared like a phantom before it, arm already lowered into position for a drop shot.

His racket made contact, and the ball flew, barely skimming over the net before dropping suddenly. Atobe made a lunge- that somehow still seemed elegant and poised- for the shot, but missed, as the ball landed on the ground, and didn't bounce again.

Rei didn't even realize her mouth was open until Sora nudged her in the side. The ball had rolled slowly back towards the net, brushing against the net as it slowed to a stop.

Dead silence filled the stands and the court, as both players struggled to regain their breath and the audience sat in stunned quiet.

And then the applause began to ring out. Crowds of people rose to their feet, cheering and clapping yet another spectacular rally. Even Atobe, ever gracious, even in defeat, clapped his racket with his hand reluctantly, a smirk already growing on his face. "_Arn_, I will give you that point, Tezuka. But prepared to…"

He raised a hand in the air, and the crowd fell into an automatic hushed silence, waiting for the signal that they knew would come. A resounding click. "_Be awed by my prowess!_"

Wild cheering came from the Hyotei supporters, taking up the majority of the stands, as Atobe- literally- _preened _in the spotlight.

Rei laughed as she saw Tezuka react- with absolutely nothing. The blank look on his face remained defiantly unreadable as he turned and walked back to the baseline, grasping his racket afresh as he awaited the next serve.

She felt her heart skip a beat as he looked briefly over towards the stands, and his eyes found hers.

She could vaguely hear the knowing whistles and chuckling from the tennis regulars, who were watching them closely. All she knew was at that moment, the smile on her face was more genuine than it had been in a long time.

He looked away after a second, once again intently focused on the match he was in, but Rei could have sworn that there was something like the ghost of a smile hovering on his mouth just before he turned away.

She absently felt the edge of the too-long sleeve of the jacket that was draped around her shoulders.

* * *

"_Good luck, Tezuka-san!" Rei smiled brightly at Tezuka, who was standing on the court in front of the stands, looking up at her. _

"_Thank you." He adjusted his glasses as she leant over the railing, bending down to speak to him. Both of them ignored the catcalling and the whistling from behind them. _

"_I'll be cheering you on the whole time, so just play your best, yeah?" Tezuka was faintly surprised at her words- he hadn't been expecting that. _

_Rei's eyes widened- Tezuka had shrugged off his white regular's jacket. _

"_Here." He held it up, and she found herself reaching out a hand for it before she even registered the movement, her fingers closing almost possessively on the soft material. She looked at him with surprise, and he adjusted his glasses uncomfortably. _

"_You looked cold." _

_Rei glanced down at what she was wearing, and realized, slightly startled, that he was right- she was cold. The pair of shorts she was wearing didn't manage to cover enough to prevent her from shivering- and the tank top she had on was _definitely _not made in mind for cold, blustery days. _

_She took the jacket gratefully, draping it around her shoulders, but not slipping her arms into the sleeves, instead clutching it to herself. She smiled thankfully at Tezuka, a little touched that he had noticed what even she hadn't. _

"_Thank you, Tezuka-san."_

_He hesitated for a few seconds in silence, before looking away with an almost awkward air. _

"_You don't have to address me so formally."_

_A smile, a real one, broke out across her face. _

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

* * *

At five games to four, the match was, incredibly, even more tense than before. Rei didn't think she could handle the intense pressure and suspense for much longer- if the match went into a tiebreak, she might scream.

Tezuka was leading, but even from a distance, Rei could see that his arm was seriously beginning to pain him. Nevertheless, not even a falter appeared in his poker face, and all he did was prepare to serve, eyes fixed on Atobe through his glasses.

It was so _him _to take up the burden of Singles One, even with his injury- and sacrifice his potential career for this one match.

Not that Rei could criticize him. She ruefully stretched out her left leg, fingers trailing carefully over the tape strapped on her knee. The sharp pain had long gone, but the dull ache was ever present, reminding her of the injury.

This was the price of becoming a sports player, and even though they played different sports, she understood how he felt.

The pain and joy in sacrificing oneself for your team was one of the most agonizing, exhilarating feelings in the world.

After a few points, just as drawn out and intense as the many points before them, Tezuka had suddenly found a match point in his hands. One more rally, one more point, one more _serve _and he would win.

For Seigaku. For his team. For himself.

Gritting his teeth, and trying his best to ignore the almost blinding pain that had crept up into his arm, he tossed the ball into the air and swung his racket back in a serve.

And then everything began going wrong.

"TEZUKA!" The tennis regulars were on their feet, some looking prepared to jump over the railing and run over to their fallen captain. Rei had half-stood up as well, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

Tezuka, the pillar of Seigaku, fallen?

"Don't come onto the court!"

At the harsh order of their captain, the Seigaku regulars froze, reluctant to obey, but unable to go against the will of Tezuka.

Across the net, Atobe, and with him, the entire audience of spectators, watched with their breath held and wide eyes as he slowly got back up, gripping his arm tightly. His mouth was hardened, and his eyes were blazing with determination.

Rei thought that she had never seen him like this before, so fired up and glorious in his sacrifice and pain.

"This match isn't finished."

And he got back into position on the baseline, to serve again for the match.

But by then, it was too late. The damage had been done, and broken things can never be fully repaired, cannot be restored to precisely their former perfection and beauty.

* * *

"_Game and match to Hyotei, seven games to six!" _

Losing was unforgivable to Tezuka. He shouldn't have, couldn't have, _wouldn't _have lost. It just wasn't an option.

But as he grasped Atobe's proffered hand wearily, too exhausted to even register the agonizing pain in his arm, he met Rei's eyes from where she was standing, and saw the sad, but not disappointed- _proud _smile on her face.

And he didn't feel as lost as he thought he would have.

Atobe gripped his hand tightly; his eyes were sincere for perhaps the first time that Tezuka had seen them so. Without a word, he lifted their adjoined hands into the air, causing the already applauding audience to break out into a roar of appreciation and amazement.

"This victory belongs to both of us," he called out, and both of them felt for the first time, a bond of understanding between each other.

As Tezuka slowly made his way towards the stands, the bitter sting of defeat was already beginning to fade into a dull, throbbing ache, something that almost seemed like just a bad dream.

Bad dreams don't last forever, but the memory does.

Rei smiled as the boy approached slowly, and she leant over the railings again, beckoning discreetly to him. Tezuka saw her motion, and he walked over to her first, leaving the inevitable comfort and talk with his teammates for later.

The other regulars were tactful enough to recognize that Tezuka, especially in the wake of a loss to his rival, would not appreciate any teasing interruptions, no matter how lenient he had been in the past. So they stayed quiet, simply choosing to watch with knowing smiles and whispered laughs.

The scene before them was vaguely reminiscent of a scene from an old movie- perhaps Romeo and Juliet?

The way Rei was leaning down over the railing, loose hair tumbling down around her face, and Tezuka, with his face turned upwards to look at her, stood below, was very familiar.

But this was no Romeo and Juliet, and as Tezuka leant forward so that Rei could say something in his ear, there were no romantic, poetic, sentimental words in his mind.

Only a strange, unnamed feeling of contentment and peace.

A strange feeling to be experiencing directly after a hard-fought loss to someone whom he had always considered to be a worthy rival.

As she leant down to whisper in his ear, her long, dark hair fell down and managed to partially veil his face as well.

A few whistles came from the watching regulars, but they did not disturb the two, but merely glued their eyes to a very compromising-looking situation before them.

Straining their ears to perhaps catch the words that Rei was saying in a low voice to Tezuka. But what Inui and Fuji, with their sharp ears, managed to hear, was not what they wanted to hear.

Rei reached out a hand, and for a brief, irrational, fleeting moment, Tezuka thought she was reaching out to touch his face. But she only touched his glasses, and whispered with a smile, "Your glasses are scratched."

He nodded, and straightened up to take them off, eliciting a quiet, disappointed sigh from the watching regulars.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rei reached out and hugged him quickly, rather awkwardly due to the position they were in. Tezuka stiffened with shock, but did not do anything to move away. She whispered, voice slightly muffled by his shoulder, "You were amazing."

He didn't know what else to say, besides, "Thank you."

She quickly withdrew, hastily rubbing her eyes. She smiled at him. "You should go and talk to your teammates, I'm sure they want to talk to you. Do you want your jacket back?"

He just turned to walk over to his waiting teammates, saying, "Keep it."

Rei was rather surprised, but she smiled, and turned to talk to Sora sitting next to her. She was getting used to Tezuka's distant, but actually caring behaviour. She put her hand up to touch the sleeve of the jacket that was still draped around her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Tezuka was enduring some rather irritating teasing from his teammates, who had murmured a few quick words of comfort and encouragement before launching directly into the fun.

"Tezuka-buchou, you've got it going!"

"Momoshiro, ten laps at practice tomorrow."

"Ne, Tezuka, I'm assuming you're going to announce you're no longer single to your _devoted _fangirls tomorrow? It would be rude otherwise."

"…Fuji, twenty laps."

* * *

Ryoma had won the match between the reserve players, as expected of the freshman prodigy. Hyotei had taken their narrow loss with surprising graciousness that no one had expected of Atobe especially.

"We'll meet again, Tezuka," the narcissistic captain promised, as he shook the Seigaku captain's hand. "And next time, the result will be the same."

"I look forward to it." As usual, Tezuka's poker face was impeccable- he simply shook Atobe's hand and nodded to Oshitari, who was standing behind Atobe.

Atobe flicked his hair and said arrogantly, "Be awed by Ore-sama's prowess," in a tone that sent his teammates laughing. Shishido shouted out, "Oh, shut up, you mole diva!"

Ryoma smirked. "Heh…it looks like Monkey King thinks he's good enough to beat Tezuka-buchou…"

This, of course, sent the Hyotei team, as well as the Seigaku regulars, into howls of laughter. Mukahi and Shishido in particular were very loud- they were doubled over, slapping each other on the back. "HAH! Atobe got told!"

Atobe was not at all pleased. "Oi, brat, stand back and admire the brilliance of Ore-sama."

"Whatever, Monkey King."

"Do not address me by the _ridiculous _name-"

Meanwhile, standing on the bleachers, and still with Tezuka's jacket draped around her shoulders, Rei caught sight of Oshitari glancing amusedly towards the Hyotei spectators, who were looking rather deflated, mouthing something like, _And you still like him?_

Apparently, the object of his gaze was a small, mahogany-haired girl wearing a pair of glasses, clutching a book and looking flushed and acutely embarrassed. She frantically mouthed back at the tensai, _I do not! Stop it! He's going to look at me-_

And at that moment, as if he had magically heard his name being called, Atobe's head whipped around, and his eyes met hers.

After a moment of silent staring, unreadable on his side and embarrassed on hers, he finally smirked. "Oi, Tanaka, surely you appreciate the prowess of Ore-sama?"

She blushed a violent red. "W-what?" she stuttered in a tiny voice.

Rei laughed to herself, and turned away from the scene with a smile. It looked like even the egotistical Atobe Keigo had proved to be quite different in love.

Sora was also watching with a half-smile on her face, and turned to her best friend. "Hey, Rei, we have a game soon."

"Oh? Who is it with?"

"I don't know, it's a no-namer school. But we have to be careful, because we have to make it through to the next round. Remember we are set to play Hyotei as well?"

Rei waved a dismissive hand. "Just chill, we'll win the first round easy. Just like this." She snapped her fingers, but Sora did not look impressed.

"Rei, this is serious. You have to go all out in the first round, alright? I'm not saying you have to play to your full potential," she quickly amended at the look Rei was giving her, "but at least _try_. Alright?"

The dark-haired girl huffed a sigh. "Alright, fine. Don't worry, you've got me and Akira. What could possibly go wrong?"

But things never go as they are supposed to, and things that seem right, are sometimes wrong.

* * *

Tezuka was walking home from the match, but the normally lonely, quiet walk was different that day.

Maybe it was because of the girl walking beside him, who was chattering away about something that he wasn't even interested in, really.

But he listened anyway.

Rei was still had his jacket around her shoulders- she had already offered it back to him several times, but he had silently refused, telling her to wear it until she got home. He didn't want her catching a cold, after all.

He tried to tell himself that it was only because she was a sports player as well, and he knew what it was like to not be able to play, only able to watch from the sidelines. He didn't want her to go through that just because she had caught a cold.

But in his heart, he knew that wasn't it.

_All those thoughts could wait for later, though, _he thought wearily. At the moment, all he could think of was getting home and recovering from the gruelling match that he had just gone through.

He felt a tug on his arm, and he looked around at Rei, to see her smiling exasperatedly at him. "Tezuka-kun, you know that we're at my home, don't you?"

Noticing her familiar address of him, he realized that she was right. While he had been lost in his thoughts, they had already walked all the way to her apartment block. Rei stood there awkwardly, looking uncertain. "I don't know…do you want to, like, come in?"

Tezuka weighed up his options. At home, he knew that his parents and grandfather would definitely ask him about the match, and he wasn't ready to talk about his defeat.

Not yet.

"If your parents don't mind."

Rei's smile turned strained, and Tezuka immediately realized something was wrong. "Ah…my parents don't…_live _here."

At his look of surprise and apology, she hastened to explain. "No, no, it's fine, you don't have to apologize! My mother's dead, but my father's still alive. It's not what you're thinking."

She absently touched the chain that was hanging around her neck, and Tezuka, for the first time, realized that there was a plain, gold ring dangling from it. He understood, without any words of explanation, that it must have been her mother's wedding ring.

"Why doesn't your father live with you?"

At his question, she looked slightly pained again, and glanced around. "Come in first, we'll talk inside."

Tezuka allowed her to lead him into the apartment, and as Rei searched around for slippers, he took the opportunity to look around.

Rei's home was rather unexpectedly neat- things were arranged and stored cleanly away, and the living room was tidy and organized. It didn't seem like the work of someone as impulsive as Rei, but Tezuka supposed that living by yourself changed a lot of things.

Giving him a fresh pair of slippers, Rei beckoned him in. "Come on, don't need to be so formal!"

She led him into the living room, a small room with a couple of couches and chairs, with a television set and a small adjoining kitchen nearby. It was very cramped- but then, Tezuka had never lived in an apartment room before.

He didn't know the first thing about how big apartments were.

He sat stiffly on the couch, back almost ramrod straight as Rei hurried into the kitchen. She called out to him, "Would you like coffee or tea? Or something else?"

"Tea, thank you," he said, and he heard a few noises from the kitchen, before she emerged again, clutching two steaming cups, one in each hand. She handed one carefully to him, and Tezuka could smell the fresh scent of his favourite tea- green tea. He looked up in surprise at her- did she know that it was his favourite?

Rei saw his inquiring glance, and she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I had to guess what type you would like. Green seemed to be something you would like. If you don't, I can make you another cup-"

"No, you were right. It is my preferred flavour."

Her smile became incredulous, and brightened. "Really?"

He paused only to take a sip, appreciating the taste, before answering, "Really."

She settled herself next to him, and Tezuka realized that she was sipping from a cup of coffee. "Coffee?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm a coffee girl. Besides, it helps to keep me awake, yeah?"

He nodded, and for a minute, they fell silent, each sipping carefully from the mug in their hands, hands wrapped around it to keep warm. Finally, Rei spoke up.

"You know, my father doesn't live with me because he never has been a part of my family." She explained her words, as Tezuka looked around with faint surprise in his eyes. "I mean, he divorced my mother when I was two. It's not like I ever really got to know him."

His eyes softened. "Aa. I see."

Rei was staring into her mug, eyes fixed on the swirling liquid inside. "My mother died when I was really young. My father's my legal guardian, but I don't see him very often."

"So you live alone?"

She nodded. "He recently got engaged again, so I guess he'll ask me to live with him again. Not that I'm going to."

Tezuka glanced at her sideways. "You're not going to?"

Rei's eyes were fixed in a stare, and she said flatly, "No. I don't want to get hurt again."

* * *

**A/N: **My fingers hurt so much from typing this whole chapter up in the last few days. And did anyone pick up the reference to Jun from my other story, _Lost in Your Eyes_? I rushed this chapter to make everyone who has been reading this story happy, so it was very short compared to the others, and I apologize for the not up to standard writing. Look forward to the next chapter in a week or so! And I've realized that my updates have become slower- for the first seven or eight chapters, I updated almost every four or five days. But since I have started school again and this story has become a little steadier now- I will be trying to update maybe every week or so? Give me some lenience, since I have barely any time to spare. Thanks!

So again, please review, since you're already at the bottom of the page and it will only take you a few seconds. Oh, and as a birthday present to me. Thanks! See you all next chapter!


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Mayhem

**A/N: **Back again, with a new chapter! So because last chapter was pretty rushed and below standard, I've made this chapter extra filling, to make up for it! Thank you to the TWELVE people who reviewed last chapter! Please review when you finish the chapter- there are so many readers who don't bother to take the time to write a quick message, and they don't know how much a few words can mean to the author. Thanks!

This chapter is dedicated to three people who have been there to support me for the past few chapters, and I really appreciate your encouragement! So thank you to _nukrat_, _Alison Raven, _and _TheRavenSlayer13_!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

"_It's all your fault! Why are you blaming me?" _

"_What are you talking about? It was _you _that decided to get two jobs and not leave any time for me!" _

"_Excuse me? _You _went and had an affair- and you didn't even apologize when I caught you WITH MY BEST FRIEND!"_

"_What's your problem? It was just a little fun…it's not like it means anything…"_

"_You bastard! And here you are, blaming me!" _

"_You're the one who never loved me!"_

"_You're the one who I caught with another woman!"_

"_You ignored me!"_

"_You cheated on me!"_

"_You-"_

_The voices escalated, growing louder and louder, as the little girl crept silently out of her bedroom, feet barely making on a sound on the wooden floor as she reached the landing, peeking out fearfully and still half-asleep through the railing as the two adults below screamed and yelled at each other. _

"_It's your fault!"_

"_Why are you blaming me?" _

"_Because it was your fault!"_

"_It was yours, woman!" _

"_What?!" _

_The little girl covered her ears, not wanting to hear any more. But the voices still rang in her ears, burning with their bitterness. _

_Finally, the woman shrieked with frustration, and stormed out of the house, but not before slapping her husband- _hard- _across the cheek, leaving a searing red mark. He just stood there, stunned, fingers automatically lifting to touch his face. _

_The little girl just crouched there without a word, peeking through the railings, trembling and shaking with fear. _

_She accidentally let out a stifled sob, and her father heard it. He looked up, startled, and saw his daughter crouching behind the balustrade, tears shining unshed in her eyes. He started forward, but stopped when he saw her recoil. _

_He lifted a hand, trying to calm her down. "Reika, it's not what you're thinking-"_

"_T-tou-san?" _

_He sighed with defeat, and at last, told her the truth. _

"_Reika…your mother and I are getting a divorce…"_

* * *

"…and that's my life." Rei laughed half-heartedly, eyes still fixed on a spot on the ground in front of her. Tezuka's expression had softened, and he was gazing at her with an unreadable, but by no means harsh expression.

"Your mother's…dead?"

Rei didn't seem offended or hurt, as Tezuka had feared- she merely let her fingers trail along the chain around her neck, the gold ring dangling from it. "Yes, she died when I was nine. Heart failure."

Tezuka didn't say anything, and Rei was strangely grateful for that. Too many people had told her _I'm sorry_, and she didn't even know why they apologized.

"So in a twisted way, she really did die of a broken heart." She laughed humourlessly, and spun the ring absently around her finger.

"I-" He wanted to say _I understand_, but in reality, he knew that it wasn't what she wanted to hear. After all, he didn't really understand what it was like to lose a mother, and go through the confusion of a divorce.

He settled for an "Aa," instead, the monosyllabic, trademark reply the only answer he could think of at the moment. He almost regretted saying it as it left his mouth- but Rei didn't seem offended; rather, she seemed relieved.

Rei was about to say something when the doorbell rang, and she looked around strangely. Tezuka looked at her in surprise- why was she looking so scared?

She got up in silence, and headed over to the door. Peeking around the half-opened door, the tension in her shoulders relaxed at the sight of whoever was outside.

A few murmured words followed, as Tezuka gazed curiously- with slight interest, he preferred to say, curious was such a _nosy _word- at her back. Finally, the familiar _crinkle _of paper transferring hands could be heard, and then Rei stepped back and closed the door behind her, walking back over.

Sitting back down again, and huffing a sigh that sent some of the strands of hair around her face fluttering softly, Rei looked more tired and drained than Tezuka had ever seen her before.

In her hands, he noticed she was clutching some sort of letter- an envelope, crisp and brand-new white- like the colour of hospital walls, he noticed with distaste- with a short line of very cursive handwriting on the flap.

"What is it?"

She glanced up at him, faintly surprised, but not displeased. "Oh...it's a letter from my father…"

Time had some kind of grudge against them, Tezuka decided. Really. But he remained silent and watchful as Rei slowly opened the letter, carefully easing the flap open and pulling out a neatly folded letter.

He noticed that her hands were shaking as she unfolded the piece of paper.

The only sound that could be heard in the room at that point was the suddenly loud _crackle _of the paper as Rei stared at whatever was written on the letter she was reading.

"…what does it say?"

After a long moment, she looked up at him, a resigned look in her eyes. "It's an invitation to his wedding."

* * *

Akira was having an amusing day.

She had finally found the weakness of her childhood friend and rival, Nagasaki Shizuka. And she had been mercilessly exploiting it all week.

And it was no one other than a fellow second-year by the name of Momoshiro Takeshi.

After a long period of suspicion and mere guesswork, she had finally forced it out of the two of them. She had been suspicious of them for a long time before Valentine's Day. And when Momoshiro had asked her to the dance, and Shizuka had reacted so violently, she knew she was right.

Shizuka and Momoshiro liked each other.

A plotting smirk grew on her face as she mused about it even more, realizing how obvious their relationship actually was.

Love-hate relationship pretty much defined their interaction. Actually, on the side of Shizuka, it was mostly hate, at least in front of Momoshiro himself. But Akira had been fortunately privy to a heated display of hidden affection from the small, brown-haired girl once.

It had been back in their first year, after Shizuka had just had another huge argument with the boy, and was fuming in the seat next to Akira, glaring daggers at the desk in front of her.

* * *

"_I can't believe the nerve of that jerk!" Shizuka hissed in a loud whisper, not willing to risk the teacher hearing her. _

_Not that there was much chance of that happening. It was a free period, and their teacher was already nodding off, the old man's eyelids fluttering heavily. _

_Akira just yawned and glanced at Shizuka dismissively. "I don't care about whatever you're talking about, so just shut up, _baka risu._" She plugged in her earphones. It wasn't like she had anything to be doing in this class- she was only there because her teacher was absent. _

_The smaller girl just ignored Akira's cutting remark- Shizuka just kept right on ranting about whatever she was talking about. "He said I was too short! _No one _calls me short and gets away with it!"_

"_Mm," Akira mumbled disinterestedly, not even paying attention, while busy tapping her foot to whatever music she was listening to. Shizuka noticed this time around- she turned on her childhood friend indignantly. _

"_Hey! Why aren't you listening to me?"_

"_I am…"_

"_No, you're not! You're the most amazing person I've ever met!" This was said in a sarcasm-laden voice. "See, did you even hear what I just said?"_

"_Thank you, I know I am." Akira finally looked up with a faint expression of annoyance at Shizuka, who had her mouth hanging open in indignation and shock. "Are you done whining yet? All you've done for the past few weeks is gripe and complain about Momoshiro. What's your problem with him?"_

"My _problem? He's the one who has a problem! Calling me short, who is he to talk?" Shizuka began her rant afresh, causing half the class to turn and stare at her with curious eyes. Akira wanted to just punch Shizuka in the mouth, feeling annoyed by all the gazes on the two of them. _

_Finally, she had had enough. "Shizuka, maybe he said that because you _are _short." This blunt, cutting remark managed to stop the other girl in her tracks- her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide. Akira continued before she could recover from her shocked state. _

"_Stop taking offence to everything the guy says. You insult him and call him worse things all of the time anyway, it's tooth for tooth here! Don't take everything so seriously like he's trying to kill you!"_

_There was a moment of silence between them as Akira paused for breath and Shizuka stared at her in bewilderment. And then- _

"_WHAT THE F- you punk cherry, what are you trying to say? You calling me short, huh? And why are you siding with that idiot?"_

_Akira's face immediately became extremely irritated. "Che, shut up and do your work, _baka risu_." But there was some strange sort of half-smile on her face as she turned back around. _

_Shizuka was smiling rather ruefully too; she gazed with a half-resentful, but amused expression in her eyes. "…look who's talking, punk."_

* * *

While Akira had been sitting in her home, thinking with a smirk on her face, the rattle of keys in the door jolted her out of her reverie. She looked around from the slouched position lying on the couch she was in, and called out, "Nii-san, is that you?"

An answering rattle followed, before the door opened and a young man walked in, easy smile on his face and grocery bags in his hands. "Hey, Akira, what's up? What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes without any ill meaning. "Can't I be on my own couch if I want to?"

He chuckled and retorted playfully, "Uh, no, that's _my _couch you're lolling on. If you want to mistreat it like that, go and do it outside."

Akira just snorted and flopped back onto the couch. Her older brother dumped all the groceries that he had been carrying onto the kitchen counter, before dropping his keys onto the table and coming over to his sister, rolling up his sleeves. "But seriously, why are you on the couch? It's not like you."

The red-haired girl avoided the question, instead choosing to play with the ends of her black streaked hair. "Just make dinner, Hiro-nii-san."

Hiro saluted her playfully, saying, "Aye aye, captain, whatever you say. Your wish is my command." He went back into the kitchen, where the sound of rustling plastic bags could be heard, and a few minutes later, Akira heard the distinctive sound of the stove being turned on.

It wouldn't be long until dinner.

Her fingers trailed absently over the several piercings in her ears- she was thinking about getting another one soon. Life needed something new, after all. It wouldn't do to get bored.

Or maybe another tattoo would be better. They were more easily hidden by clothing during school hours, and she had less of them than piercings.

At the moment, only two were showing- the black feather inked on her left ankle was partially revealed underneath the edge of her rolled up jeans, and the tip of a line of small black birds could be seen peeking out from her top on her collarbone.

There was another one on her shoulder, but that stayed hidden…for the moment.

Akira barely suppressed a laugh as she remembered how lenient and relaxed Hiro had been about her getting multiple piercings, tattoos and dyeing her hair.

Shizuka had been with her that day, and had been asserting all along that her brother would never allow it, she was being childish and spoilt, this was something that should be left until she was older, and many other things that Akira hadn't even bothered to listen to.

Akira wanted to burst out into laughter when she remembered the shocked, almost horrified look on Shizuka's face when at her bluntly put remark, "I want to get a tattoo and another piercing," her brother had just calmly looked up from the newspaper he was reading, and said, "Sure, if that's what you want." And then he had gone back to reading.

Of course, ever since that day, Shizuka had been muttering things like "irresponsible" and "far too soft" under her breath whenever Akira or Hiro was around. Not that it mattered to the tall girl- she couldn't care less what other people thought.

As far as she was concerned, Hiro was the best brother she could have, and she wouldn't trade him for anyone else in the world, no matter how annoying he could be.

She wouldn't trade him even for her parents.

* * *

"His wedding?" Tezuka repeated slowly, for once in his life not sure if he had heard her correctly.

Rei nodded, the envelope still clutched in her hand. "Yeah…he's getting married to his new fiancée, I guess."

"…Aa." He didn't really know how to reply to that kind of sentence- really, what was there to say about it?

She continued anyway, staring at the invitation written in fancy lettering that she was clutching far too hard in her hand. Creases had already appeared in the creamy white paper. "It's in three weeks' time…and I have to go to visit him for that week."

He hadn't been expecting that. Tezuka realized that it would mean that she would be absent from school for a week.

"And he's found someone he wants me to meet."

Those words immediately rang suspiciously in Tezuka's ears. "Are those his words?"

Rei's forehead creased, as though she was thinking about his words. "Well, he says _there is someone I particularly want you to meet…I'm sure that you'll like him._"

An ominous silence echoed between them, and for a moment, Tezuka felt a flash of something foreign inside him, that he couldn't quite place a name to.

Not quite jealousy, but something that held the same sort of sickening twist.

Rei was the one who broke the silence. "You know, it would be a lot easier if I could just get someone else to come with me…then I wouldn't have to put up with my father's attempts to set me up."

"Aa."

The dark-haired girl sighed, and crossed her legs on the couch she was sitting on. "If only there was someone I could take with me…"

"I'll go with you."

Rei's head shot up, startled. Tezuka's words had been sudden and completely unexpected. "For real? Are you serious?"

"Yes." Tezuka was beginning to feel uncomfortable- he wasn't sure if the expression of shock on Rei's face was good or bad. What was he supposed to think? "Only if you want to, of course."

"…" Rei's shocked silence was growing more and more prolonged. Finally, "…Really?"

Tezuka breathed a silent sigh of relief at that, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly, in a ghost of a smile- as close as he could get to one. "Really."

Rei's face broke out into one of the brightest, most sincere smiles Tezuka had seen from her in a while. "Tezuka-kun…really, thank you."

"Aa."

But her relieved expression was soon replaced with one of worry and concern. "But can you really? I mean, it _is _for a week, after all, and you'll have to miss school and practice as well. And I don't want to drag you into my family problems-"

"It's fine," he interrupted, before she could work herself up into a frantic rant again. Rei smiled a rather sheepish smile at him, knowing why he had interrupted her sentence. "I don't mind." _If it's for you_ went unsaid, although Tezuka didn't realize that he was subconsciously thinking it.

The relieved smile was back on Rei's face. "Are you sure?"

"Aa." He was rather amused by her indecisiveness and uncertainty, which was usually something he did not particularly approve of. But when it was Rei, he found that he didn't mind at all.

"Well, alright…" She still looked slightly unsure, but had clearly accepted his offer and decision. "It's in a couple of weeks, so we still have some time…"

"I see."

"Tezuka-kun." He looked up at Rei, to see a very serious- perhaps the most serious he had ever seen- expression on her face. "Are you sure about this?"

It was the third time she had asked about it, but it seemed as though this time, it was a heavy question- one that seemed laden with implications.

But it didn't matter anymore. In that one second, he was sure of his decision. "Yes. I'm sure."

* * *

Seigaku had breezed through the first round of the Kantou basketball tournament, defeating their opponent eighty-four to twenty-two.

But that was nothing compared to the challenger that awaited them in the next round.

Originally, the team had been drawn to face off against the third seed, Hyotei. Sora had been increasing the training during practice, especially defence, because of Hyotei's reputation as an incredibly offensive team.

But things hadn't worked out quite as planned.

Sora was tying her shoelaces while sitting on the bench, ready for practice, when a second-stringer ran in, huffing and gasping for air. Rei was stretching next to Sora, reaching for her toes, and she looked up curiously.

The second-year girl finally managed to catch her breath, and looked desperately at Sora, who had half-risen from her seat. "Sora-buchou! B-bad news!"

Immediately, the blonde captain was all business. "What is it?"

The tired girl thrust a crumpled piece of paper out to Sora, who instinctively grabbed it and looked at it with dawning horror.

Rei looked around worriedly, not knowing what was going on. "Hey, Kaji. What's the matter? Is it about Hyotei?"

Just as Sora's keen, searching eyes found the words that she was dreading on the paper she was clutching, the girl burst out, "We're not playing Hyotei in the next round!"

Rei's eyes widened. How was that even possible? Hyotei was the third seed, and a formidable team that had been slated to at least make the semi-finals.

"Are you serious? But Hyotei is such an experienced team! How is that possible? They shouldn't have lost in the first round!"

Kaji shrugged helplessly. "The results came in today. Hyotei lost their game twenty to fifty-five!"

Rei felt her face twisting into an expression of outright and impending horror. For such an offensive-based team to lose with such a large difference was almost unheard of. She felt her lips forming the words that she was already dreading the answer to. "Who did they lose to?"

There was a moment of silence. In the end, Sora was the one who answered. "Jyosei."

Although Rei had never heard of the school before, the name still sent a shiver up her spine. There was something that Sora wasn't saying, as she knew that if she heard it, she would most likely regret it.

But she didn't have to ask. Sora said it anyway, with a heavy, almost fateful voice. "They're a defensive school. And they completely overwhelmed Hyotei. Morita was completely shut down- she didn't even score a point."

Rei's mouth fell half-open in horror. Morita Leiko, the famed shooting guard of Hyotei, almost on par with Rei's talent, not scoring even once?

It was impossible.

"…_Morita _didn't score a _point_? How-?"

Sora's voice was flat and blank. "Jyosei has an iron-clad defence. Not one of their players is particularly noticeable in offence, but they have flawless teamwork and excellent defence. Especially the captain."

"Saito Kana is her name." Kaji had spoken up again, eyes wide with awe and something akin to fear. "She's a transfer student from America, so she isn't well known. But her defence is incredible!"

Sora continued from there. "We got the tape of the Hyotei versus Jyosei match. Saito is very tall- she may be taller than even Yuki." Rei's eyes shot wide open at this- what sort of monster was Saito Kana? "She has extremely fast reflexes, and she's big as well as fast. She's shut down every single offensive team so far into the tournament. And she handpicked her team for defence. There's not one of them that isn't over one hundred and eighty."

Right, that was just crazy.

"What does she do?" Rei had to ask the question- she couldn't contain the looming sense of ominous dread creeping over her. Sora's serious, hard look at her only confirmed it.

"In every match, she's gone straight for the shooting guard or the ace, whichever is more essential to the other team's scoring. And she's completely shut them down."

* * *

Sora was not one for empty words. That practice, she had almost doubled the amount of training, and had begun focusing on offence dramatically more. Whenever someone asked her why, she merely said in a hard voice, "We're playing Jyosei, not Hyotei. We can't lose."

No one had dared to utter a word of complaint, not even Akira or Shizuka. Both of the two normally loud and rude second-years were uncharacteristically quiet that day, throwing themselves into the training.

During the half-way break in the middle of the training session, Akira and Rei had dove right into one of their famous one-on-ones again. By the time Sora yelled out time, Rei had emerged the victor narrowly again.

As Sora had been watching the two of them, the normally silent and calm Yuki had leant over and asked, "Why do you think they're so serious today?"

"Yeah, they look like they want to murder each other," Shizuka added.

Sora could see why she would think that. This time around, both Akira and Rei were giving everything they had, and sparks seemed to fly from their eyes as they dashed and whirled around the court, almost too fast for the eye to see. "It's because both of them know that Saito will most likely target one of them. And both, even though they won't admit it, are in a way afraid that she will."

"Is this Saito really _that_ good?"

Sora stared at the ground with a hard expression, adjusting her glasses grimly. "Yeah, I've seen the tape recording. The way she moves is just…incredible," she stated grudgingly, but with a slight hint of admiration in her tone. "Even I have to admit it, I've never seen anything like her in terms of defence."

"I can understand that punk cherry's suddenly all macho about that, but I've never seen Rei-senpai so fired up before a match!"

Yuki cut in before Sora could answer. The normally quiet center was rather intense as well- her eyes were filled with some sort of emotion that neither of them had ever seen in her before, not even during a match. "Rei-san is good at pretending most of the time."

Shizuka just looked confused. "What do you mean? But Rei-senpai is always so carefree and relaxed…"

It was Sora who answered this time. "Rei has always had a way of making others believe that she doesn't care about anything." A small smile appeared on the blonde girl's face. "But in her heart, she is more passionate about winning than perhaps any of us here." A glance over at the court had confirmed it. "Except maybe Akira."

Yuki nodded, smiling softly at the two prodigies of the team, battling it out in full style on the court, skidding sounds echoing around the gym from their shoes. "Yeah. The two of them combined leaves everyone behind trailing in their potential."

Shizuka had never thought about it, but now that her senpais had pointed it out, she sort of understood where they were coming from. "Yeah, maybe."

* * *

Tezuka was just finishing up his practice match with Kaidoh- in which he had noted, with a faint sense of satisfaction, that the second-year had become a lot stronger- when a call from Inui first alerted him to her presence.

"Hey, Tezuka, there's someone here waiting for you."

He had looked around, and his eyes had immediately focused on the dark-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the bench, watching his match. With a look at Kaidoh, who without a word, had straightened and begun heading over to the sidelines, he walked over.

The first thing he noticed was that Rei had an uncharacteristically worried and stressed look on her face. The second was the piece of paper she was clutching between her fingers.

As soon as he drew close, she held out the crumpled piece of paper to him, and he instinctively took it, looking down at what seemed to be a profile of some girl that he had never seen before in his life.

Rei explained. "That's Saito Kana, captain of the Jyosei basketball team." At Tezuka's inquiring look, and Kikumaru's question, "What's Jyosei?" she continued, "We're playing her team in the next round."

Cries and exclamations of "What?" and "No way!" came from the listening tennis regulars, who by now, had all gathered around to hear the news.

Over the last month or so, the tennis and basketball teams had become rather friendly with each other, and several of them found themselves greeting students whom they previously would never have even looked at.

Fuji gazed curiously at Rei. "But weren't you drawn to play Hyotei in the second round? What's this about Jyosei?"

The dark-haired girl looked down at her hands, and with a low voice, said, "We're not playing Hyotei. Not anymore. Jyosei ran them over in the first round."

Gasps of shock rippled around the regulars. Even Tezuka looked slightly surprised. Hyotei's basketball team was very well-known, even in comparison to the glamour of Atobe and the tennis team.

Inui took over from Rei's explanation, lifting a hand to adjust his glasses. "You see, Jyosei was originally a no-namer team. But with the arrival of Saito Kana-" at this, he gestured at the paper that Tezuka was holding, "-a transfer from America, the entire team dynamic has been changed. Saito has handpicked a formidable defensive line-up."

"What do you mean by a formidable defence?" Momoshiro asked curiously.

"I mean that not one of the starting players is under one hundred and eighty centimetres tall."

"WHAT?"

Kikumaru jumped up and down, agitated. "But that means that every single one is taller than Tezuka!" He pointed at the stoic captain, who just looked faintly shocked. He hadn't been expecting that sort of figure to be launched at him.

Inui nodded, seeming slightly pleased with his extensive knowledge. "Yes, the team has crushed all sorts of offensive teams so far, including Hyotei. Morita Leiko, the Hyotei captain and shooting guard-"

At those words, Momoshiro's head jerked up. "Shooting guard? Isn't that Wakanari-senpai's position?"

Rei nodded. "Yeah, she's almost on the same level as me. I had a hard time defeating her back in second-year, and it may have been just pure luck that I did."

"She's _that _good? And she still got beaten so badly?"

"Yes." Inui seemed rather miffed that his spotlight had been temporarily stolen, a slightly offended expression on his face. "Morita is a nationally recognized basketball player- her fame may be on par with Wakanari-san and Igarashi-san's."

Rei nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but in the match with Jyosei, she didn't even manage to score a single point."

"WHAT?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Not even _one_ _point_?"

"Are you serious?"

Rei nodded at all of the questions that were being fired at her by the tennis regulars. "Yeah, Saito completely shut her down. Didn't give her a chance to score from the beginning of the game."

"…dude, that's scary…"

Inui adjusted his glasses again. "My sources tell me that Saito is over a hundred and ninety centimetres…a hundred and ninety-six, to be exact. That means she's even taller than Hasegawa-san."

"_Ehhhhh?_"

"No way! She's taller than Hasegawa-senpai?"

"Yeah." Rei seemed rather exhausted. "In every game she's played in throughout the entire tournament, she's always immediately gone straight for the ace or the shooting guard. She's big _and _fast- that's not easy to have. Her defence is…amazing."

There was a minute of sobering silence amongst all of them, before a hard voice came from behind them all. "It's true. I've never seen anyone like her."

All of them turned to see Sora standing in the entrance, arms crossed and a grim expression on her face. "Saito Kana is a force to be reckoned with, and her team is no less of a threat than she is. Their teamwork is flawless."

This was followed by another long, tension-filled pause before Oishi finally broke it nervously. "W-well…I guess that you'll have to do your best! I'm sure you'll be able to win!"

Both Rei and Sora broke out into a reluctant, but soft smile. "Yeah…I guess."

* * *

Akira was dribbling on the court, relentlessly charging for the basket and slamming the ball in. On the last shot she had made, she had hung from the hoop for a few seconds, before releasing it and landing heavily on the ground.

The ring was quivering with the pure force of her shot.

She stood there panting, gasping for air, staring at her hands, callused and bruised from all of the harsh practice regimes she had imposed upon herself.

It wouldn't do to slack off. Not when they were facing the dark horse of the tournament, the ultimate defensive team Jyosei.

She felt something akin to adrenaline- she couldn't tell whether it was fear or excitement- at the thought of playing someone who might be able to stop her.

It was exhilarating, but absolutely terrifying at the same time.

From what she had heard, Saito Kana was someone who was not to be treated lightly. Although Jyosei was a no-namer school, it was perhaps even more dangerous than Hyotei would have been if they had made it as expected.

At least Hyotei's play was known to them. With Jyosei, there was nothing. It was all unknown, in the dark, something that they would have to face blindly. Recordings could only go so far- nothing quite replicated the thrill and terror of being on the court, facing an opponent.

As Akira made another powerful dunk, she looked at her hands with dissatisfaction. What was this? She knew her shots were good- hell, what high school girl could make dunks like her? But it just wasn't enough- there wasn't enough variety.

What if Kana chose to shut _her _down? Akira knew there was an even chance that she could go for Rei or her- and she dreaded being chosen, but wanted it so badly at the same time.

It was a painful dilemma, and she knew that she had to be prepared for any situation. In their one-on-one that day, her vice-captain had told her, _Your shots are too obvious. Try to be more versatile, more unpredictable. Like a tornado. _

Like a tornado, Akira mused, she rather liked that phrase. She liked to think of herself as a force on court, blowing away all of her defenders and scoring relentlessly with displays of raw power and talent.

But Rei was right- she had to stop always dunking straight away- it was too predictable. If Kana chose to defend her, there was no way that she wouldn't catch on to Akira's weakness of predictability.

As she picked up the ball again, and glared determinedly at the hoop, she made a promise to herself.

_I'll win this game, even if it takes more than I have!_

* * *

**A/N: **So finally finished, and there is the first hint of a love triangle (not really)! Anyway, _Shattered Fragments _has reached seven thousand reads, almost eighty thousand words, and eighty-seven reviews! Thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting this story from the beginning, you're the reason I have managed to keep updating all this time!

Please leave a review! If you do, maybe I'll update the next chapter faster!


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Commotion

**A/N: **…and this is Chapter Fourteen! Sorry, I know the last few chapters have been rather slow and erratic, but I can't help it! You know, school…that's pretty self-explanatory. And _Shattered Fragments _is up to exactly _one hundred_ reviews! The next goal is two hundred! By the way, make sure to go and check out my friend _aehlta'_s story _there are no stars in tokyo_, _Shattered Fragments _story-verse. Anyway, please review at the end- I really appreciate everyone's time spent in reading this! Thank you to the _twelve _people who reviewed- this time, our next goal is two hundred!

This chapter is dedicated to _Invalid Doctor_, who is one of my (cough cough) good friends, and finally reviewed this story to make it to a hundred!

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, but I own the OCs.

* * *

The week passed quickly, and soon enough, the day of the second round basketball match had arrived.

It was still half an hour before the game would start, but already the stadium was almost completely filled. The excited murmuring and chatter of the crowd seemed to echo throughout the entire building, resonating around the walls.

The tennis regulars were just filing into the front row seats where they had sat the last time- Kikumaru was jumping about excitedly, not able to wait for the match to start. Momoshiro was arguing with Kaidoh again, but both of them seemed to be rather looking forward to the game as well.

Even Tezuka had to admit that he was…_interested _in how the game would turn out.

In fact, the only tennis regular that was absent was Ryoma. Kikumaru noticed the missing freshman first. "Nya, where's Ochibi? He's supposed to be here by now!"

Fuji smiled his enigmatic smile, unfazed by the question. "I suppose he thought it was too bothersome to turn up today."

Inui pushed up his glasses, flashing in the bright lights of the stadium. "There's a ninety-seven percent chance that if we called Echizen, he would say-"

"Mada mada dane, Inui-senpai." The regulars turned as one to see the freshman regular standing behind them, his trademark bored expression pasted on his face.

"Oi, Echizen!" Momoshiro had sprung up from his seat, and had seized Ryoma in a headlock, ruffling his hair.

"Momo-senpai!"

"Ochibi, you came!"

Finally, after a few minutes of scuffling about, the regulars settled down into their seats, eager for the match that was about to start.

"Hey, Inui-senpai," Momoshiro asked curiously, "what's the other team like? Shizuka mentioned that they were pretty unknown."

The data specialist, pleased to be asked for information, adjusted his glasses. "The Jyosei team is a no-namer; but their team has been completely reformed this year by the new captain."

"Saito Kana, correct?" Fuji had his eyes open, seeming quite serious for once. Inui nodded, and Kikumaru looked curiously between the two of them.

"Nya, who's she?"

Inui answered at once, already flipping through his trusty notebook. "Saito Kana, third-year, transferred to Jyosei at the beginning of this year from America. She's a hundred and ninety six centimetres tall, and weighs eighty-five kilograms. She has reflexes that allow her to react in less than a second, and she has always targeted either the power forward or the shooting guard of the opposing team, whichever is more essential to scoring."

A tense silence followed his grim words. Finally, Oishi spoke up. "Always the power forward or the shooting guard? Why those two positions?"

Momoshiro chimed in. "Yeah, why not Hasegawa-senpai? She could score easily, as tall as she is! Or even the other two!"

Inui glanced over at the Jyosei spectators, who were chanting some kind of war cry. "That…is something I don't know yet."

* * *

In the locker room, the entire Seigaku team, starting players and second-stringers, were sitting around, completely silent.

If a pin had been dropped, it would have been clearly heard in the silence that pervaded the entire room. Yuki was sitting quietly on the bench, easily the calmest player there, but even she had a small frown of concentration and worry on her face.

Shizuka was stretching without focusing on her movements- she was staring off at nothing. Akira was slouched on the bench, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling with her earphones plugged in.

Sora and Rei were sitting a little apart from everyone else, both of them not talking, but lost in their own thoughts. The blonde captain was sitting on the end of the bench, and the vice-captain was sitting on the floor, leaning lightly against her friend's legs. Neither of them were looking at each other.

Sora, without even moving from her position, said quietly, "Hey, Rei?"

"Mm?"

"…We will win today."

A small smile, unseen by Sora, lit up Rei's face.

"…Yeah."

Meanwhile, Shizuka had finished her compulsive stretching, and was now absent-mindedly poking Akira's arm as she lay on the bench. Without turning her head, Akira's hand darted out and slapped the small girl's hand away. "Che, can you stop being so annoying, _baka risu_?"

"Shut it, punk. I'm bored."

"So? There's nothing interesting about my arm. Go away and annoy someone else."

Shizuka huffed irritably, but stopped poking the red-haired girl's arm. They sat in silence for a while, before finally, she asked quietly, "Hey, Akira."

Akira, somewhat caught off guard by the sudden seriousness in Shizuka's tone, reluctantly turned her head to the side, golden, half-lidded eyes staring at the brown-haired girl. "What?"

"If Saito _does _decide to guard you…what will you do?"

Freezing at the question, Akira's eyes opened wide, and then narrowed, and she stared with slitted eyes at Shizuka. But she seemed to decide, after a moment of deliberating, that the question was innocent. "…what do you think?"

The brown-haired girl did not look amused. "Oi, Kurenai, this is _not _the time-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Akira interrupted rudely, with a smirk on her face. "What? Do you think I can't handle anyone? Che, I could punch you in the face for that."

Shizuka's scowl deepened at Akira's seemingly light and careless words. "Watch it, you punk! I'm being serious here- tell me, if Saito decides to defend you, what are you going to do?"

Finally, Akira seemed to take Shizuka seriously, as the smirk disappeared, and she looked away. "I…don't know."

A silence rang in between them, and for a while, the words were unspoken, silent, like the whispery, wishful breeze.

And then- "You will."

The red-haired girl glanced over in shock, golden eyes wide as Shizuka looked at her with a half-amused, but also half-serious smile on her face. "…what?"

"On the court, I mean. It'll make sense once you step foot on the court…if you're lucky."

Akira, whose normally disgruntled and bored face had just begun to soften slightly, immediately scowled again, reaching out to flick Shizuka on the forehead- _hard_.

"Ow! What was that for, punk cherry?"

"For being an idiot, _baka risu_!"

And as the both of them began to descend into one of their customary squabbles, the rest of the team looked on in amusement, the tense atmosphere dissipating if somewhat slightly.

Sora stood up, look of resolution on her face. "Right, team, we're going to go out there and _win_. There are no other options. Got it?"

"Hai, buchou!" the players chorused in unison, the doubt beginning to disappear from their faces, and the hope and determination of adrenaline taking its place.

The blonde turned and began walking towards the door. "Let's get out there and _run _Jyosei into the ground!" With her left hand, she waved Rei to her side while pushing up her glasses with the other.

Rei appeared, a bemused and exasperated look on her face. "I'm not your minion, you know, stop ordering me around everywhere!"

Sora just mockingly looked down her nose in a spot-on imitation of Atobe Keigo, staring haughtily at her vice-captain and friend. "Do not speak, commoner. Let us go now." And with that, she swept out of the room, trailed by the rest of the team and the echoing sound of their laughter.

Meanwhile, the still arguing Akira and Shizuka had finally realized that they were the only ones left in the locker room.

_Tch_ing and swinging her bag carelessly over her shoulder, Akira's single visible eye focused on the door. "I'm gonna _crush _them." A menacing knuckle crack backed up her words.

Shizuka skipped past her, a smirk on her face. "That's _if _you can, punk. Watch me roll," and then she chased after the rest of the team, who were already going on ahead.

Akira rolled her eyes, snorted again, and then grudgingly followed.

"Ha. As if I can't handle Saito, _baka_. Watch _me_."

* * *

By now, Rei was used to the jittery nerves and excess adrenaline running through her veins that came before a game. Standing in the passageway just outside the entrance to the stadium now, she could feel the burning urge to shiver run down her body.

It was utterly thrilling.

Already, she could hear the excited murmuring of the hundreds of spectators waiting outside. And it was only an extra fuse to her adrenaline.

Pulling the black regular's jacket around her more firmly, Rei looked around at the rest of the starting players. Yuki was as calm as ever, just standing gazing out at the light emitted from the entrance, expressionless and unreadable.

Sora was standing next to Rei with her arms crossed and narrowed eyes- she seemed to be in some sort of stare-off with the captain of Jyosei, Saito Kana. Both of them seemed to be analysing each other and trying to intimidate the other- it didn't seem to be working on either of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akira was covertly and discreetly observing Kana with a narrowed glare, trying to get used to her strange posture.

Rei had noticed that as well. The Jyosei captain carried herself weirdly, as if she was…almost being held up by strings. Like a puppet, really.

But the way she held herself was in no way like the limp, unthinking manner of a puppet that someone else manipulated- no, it was tensed and purposeful, like…Kana herself held the strings to the hundred and ninety-six centimetres of herself.

It sent an involuntary shiver up Rei's body- there was something very wrong about Kana, and it wasn't just the height.

With white hair and dull grey eyes, the captain of the Jyosei team seemed cold- not just cold, but wintry like an icy breath down the back of her neck.

It was unnatural.

"_Please welcome the Jyosei Shounan basketball team!" _

As the Jyosei regulars were called up one by one, Rei realized, with a slight start, that her fingers were burning. She realized that the entire time, she had been unconsciously knotting and untying her shoelaces almost feverishly.

She immediately stopped, but the burn still stung her fingers.

Kana had been called up now, and with one last burning, but somehow still so cool and _shut off_, look over her shoulder, she walked out to the sound of loud cheering and applause.

Sora let out a breath that sounded like it had been trapped inside her for a long time. "Ready?"

Rei looked at her best friend, and for the first time before the game, her lopsided smile made an appearance. "…Yeah."

"_And please welcome the number one seed and defending champions of the Kantou tournament, Seishun Gakuen!" _

As Rei walked out after Akira, blasted with blinding lights and the somehow distant sound of cheering and wild applause, she thought that she had never felt better than now.

She met the pair of dark brown eyes in the stands, and in that moment, there was nothing around them- no cheering audience, no spotlights, just the two of them.

It was, perhaps, at that moment that the closed door began to open, and white light crept through the growing crack in between.

* * *

"_Captains, shake hands!_"

As Sora and Kana cautiously shook hands with each other, the rest of the teams faced each other and bowed, chanting out the customary greeting.

"_Please take care of us!_"

The whistle blew, and the teams went back temporarily to their respective benches for the final strategy meeting before the beginning of the game.

Sora stood with her arms crossed in front of the entire seated team, stern and grim expression on her face. "Alright, we're going to go full out from the very beginning. I'm not taking any chances with this team, do you hear?" She cast a surreptitious, hard glance at the Jyosei team, where Kana was crouched in front of them and talking quietly.

"Akira, you're doing jump ball."

The entire team looked absolutely shocked, but no one more than the red-haired second-year, who stared at the captain with perhaps the most horrified expression anyone had ever seen on her in her life. "_Me_?"

Sora seemed unfazed. "Yes, you."

"But _why_?"

Shizuka took over from the stunned Akira. "Buchou, why are you replacing Yuki-senpai? She's always done the jump ball! Why Akira?"

The blonde just remained as calm and businesslike as normal. "I have my reasons. Yuki, you know why I'm doing this, right?"

All eyes turned towards the tall center, and many of them were half-expecting her to be angry. But the peaceful girl was as calm as ever, and seemed perfectly happy with Sora's decision. "I understand, buchou."

"…what?"

"Yuki-senpai, how can you be fine with this?"

However, both the blonde captain and the center seemed absolutely decided. "I understand why Sora is doing this, and I know she does what she does for the good of the team."

The entire team went silent, and suddenly, no one was able to meet either of the third-year's eyes.

Yuki's words broke through the silence. "Don't you trust her to do what's right?"

This seemed to shock Akira enough out of her stunned state to turn to her vice-captain, who had not spoken a word since the beginning. "Rei-senpai, don't you think Yuki-senpai should be doing jump ball?" There was a raw, pleading tone in her voice that shocked many of the others.

But Rei just smiled kindly at Akira, and patting the taller girl's head in a sisterly fashion, said softly, "I trust Sora. That is how it has always been."

In front of them, the blonde smiled reluctantly at this. "That's how a team works. Without trust, there's no point in even playing in this game." She looked around at the whole team seriously.

Finally, her eyes rested on Akira, who felt like the captain's blue eyes were piercing right through her. "I trust you to do what is needed. That's why I've ordered you to do jump ball."

Her next words shook the red-haired girl to the bone. "I trust you. Do you trust me?"

The following silence was heavy, like a chained stone, dragging Akira down into the murky depths.

* * *

The stands were absolutely filled, and Kikumaru, standing up and leaning out over the railing to try and see what the teams were doing, felt himself topple forwards as someone shoved roughly past him without an apology.

"Hey, watch it!" Oishi tried to lean forward and catch Kikumaru by the wrist, but before he could reach the flailing boy, someone else beat him to it.

A large hand darted out and seized the acrobat, preventing him from toppling forwards and sending Kikumaru stumbling back into Momoshiro.

The regulars instinctively looked as one to the newcomer, and the first thing they registered was the piercing golden eyes of the young man in front of them. Silence reigned.

Kurenai Hiro grinned cheekily and gave them a teasing two-fingered salute. "Nice to meet you too. The name's Kurenai Hiro."

Realization dawned across most of the regulars, and in a flash, Kikumaru and Momoshiro were on the dark-haired man. "Hoi hoi, are you Kurenai-chan's older brother, by any chance?"

Hiro nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, that's me. Akira's my baby sister! Are you her friends?"

Momoshiro joined in the conversation. "Yeah! Your sister's in my year at school!"

In an instant, Hiro's friendly and open expression changed, and he surveyed them all suspiciously with narrowed eyes. "Wait a minute…I didn't know my sister had so many male friends…"

The regulars all sweatdropped at his sudden mood change, and Momoshiro suddenly looked _very _nervous. "Ah…that is-"

Out of nowhere, Hiro reverted back to his happy and cheerful self again, and it was as if his previous mood swing had never happened. "Well, look after her for me, okay? I've only got one sister, and I don't want to lose her to some punk out there!"

Most of the regulars were rather taken aback by his exaggerated words. Inui was scribbling away in his notebook again, and Fuji was smiling mysteriously, unperturbed by the action that was taking place around him.

Tezuka, his poker face as glued onto his face as usual, stepped forward, holding his hand out politely to Hiro. "Nice to meet you, Kurenai-san."

Hiro took his hand and shook it enthusiastically, beaming happily. "Ah, it's great to meet you too! I take it that you're my sister's sensei?"

Tezuka froze at this, and behind him, the tennis regulars burst into muffled peals of laughter. Momoshiro and Kikumaru in particular were overwhelmed by the hilarity of the situation- the red-haired boy was actually rolling about clutching his stomach.

"Hee hee! Did you hear that? He thought Tezuka was a teacher, nya!"

"Ah, Tezuka-buchou, has anyone ever told you that you'd make a good teacher? Ha ha!"

Behind them, Inui was scribbling furiously away in his notebook. "Ii data…" Tezuka just ignored his rowdy team, and the tensai smiling next to him, correcting Hiro's innocent mistake stiffly.

"My name is Tezuka Kunimitsu, and I am the captain of the Seigaku tennis team."

Hiro did not seem to be disturbed by his blatant mistake. "Ah, I see! So you're all in the tennis team? Well, please look after Akira for me! And no need to be so formal- you can just call me Hiro-onii-chan!"

The entire tennis team stared with open mouths at him- _what had he just said? _

Finally, Tezuka awkwardly remedied the situation by saying stiffly, "Hai, Hiro-san."

The black-haired young man, seemingly unaware of his over-the-top persona, flung himself into the empty seat between Momoshiro and Tezuka, shoving his hands into his pockets cheerfully. "Well, when's the game going to start?"

* * *

"_I trust you. Do you trust me?" _

_The following silence was heavy, like a chained stone, dragging Akira down into the murky depths. _

"…" The entire team had their eyes fixed to the power forward, who was looking away from the blonde captain. Sora was staring at Akira piercingly, with that look that only she could produce.

All of the other players were silent, holding their breath in the tension-laden atmosphere, waiting almost fearfully for Akira's answer.

Finally- "…I trust you."

A collective, silent sigh of relief was breathed, and Sora's stern expression relaxed and softened slightly. "That's all I needed to hear."

At that moment, the buzzer went off, and the crowd burst into excited cheers and applause again.

"_Teams, please enter the court!_"

Sora, turning back to the team, spoke quickly now. "Alright, we'll go with a zone defence for now, otherwise we'll risk letting them through. As for offence, just go with the quick passes and play. We'll see how it goes."

"Hai, buchou!"

All of them stood up, and after taking off their jackets, and leaving their water bottles behind, the starting players began heading onto the court, stretching and loosening out their limbs as they walked.

Sora paused for a moment, looking over her shoulder, and waited for Rei, who was just standing still, looking strangely at her bottle.

"Rei."

The dark haired girl looked up, and smiled reluctantly as her friend placed a steady hand upon her shoulder. Even now, Rei could feel the weight of a certain gaze from the stands on the back of her neck, prickling and burning like cold fire.

Sora gazed at her, expression unreadable. "Are you ready?"

The question was so, _so _simple, but it carried the heavy burden of something that was decisive and final.

But Rei found that she could answer, even though her tongue suddenly felt as though it was numbly heavy, weighed down by an invisible bond. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Sora half smiled, and then gestured commandingly at her friend. "Let's go then." Rei nodded, and walked over to join her. At that moment, the referee called out, "Seigaku! Please enter the court immediately!"

Sora replied, "We'll be right there!"

As the two of them approached the waiting players and the referee with the ball in his hand, Rei suddenly became hyper aware of the blank gaze that was focused on her. Kana was staring in a disconcerting manner at her- it wasn't malicious, or even _analysing_, it was just…a _stare. _

It was strange, being stared at in that way.

Rei attempted to shrug it off- after all, she was used to stares and whispers being directed at her. But the uneasy feeling clung to her, rankling like an irritating thorn in the back of her mind.

She had never seen such a _dead _gaze in her life. It was lifeless, blank- almost _indifferent. _But not quite. Not quite.

The whistle went off one more time, and Akira stepped up to the centre of the court, looking grim but determined. She cast a fleeting glance back at Sora, who nodded sternly before half-crouching, legs bent and one hand automatically lifting to adjust her glasses in a signature push.

Meanwhile, the Jyosei team seemed somewhat undecided, although they weren't exactly nervous. It wasn't quite the word, Rei decided.

The entire team was looking towards their captain, who had turned her gaze away from Rei and was focusing on Akira, whose golden eyes were fixed on the ball in the referee's hands, unseeing of anything else.

The white-haired girl seemed almost speculative in a way, as though she was reconsidering something.

It was rather unsettling.

Just before she walked over to the opposite side of the circle, Sora leaned close to Rei and whispered quickly and in a low voice, "Don't use your new move yet."

Before Rei could turn in surprise and ask her what she meant, she was already heading towards the other side. Rei dismissed it from her mind- she knew Sora would make the right decision for the team.

The referee looked inquiringly over at Kana. "Who's doing jump ball for Jyosei?"

Kana thought for a moment more, before speaking in a voice that Rei immediately decided she didn't like- slow, languid, almost _mocking _in its languor and disinterestedness. "I am."

The rest of the Jyosei team seemed to accept her decision without delay; they got into position around the two facing off against each other, ready for the ball to be brought into action.

As Rei positioned herself next to a Jyosei player, she grew jittery with nerves. The Jyosei players were indeed all very tall- the shortest was still taller than Sora by half a head. This meant that the player she was marking was almost a full head taller than her, and easily twice the body mass.

_Too late now_, she told herself wryly, as she fixed her eyes onto the ball the referee was now balancing in his one hand. _Just win. _

The words echoed around her head, as the ball left the hand of the referee, and seemingly in slow motion, floated upwards into the air.

Suddenly, it was as though all the noise around her was blocked off by an invisible barrier, and she was in her own bubble, there, but separate from everyone else around her.

And then the ball fell.

_Just win._

* * *

Tezuka leaned forward as the two players leapt upwards, in an awful creaking and groaning of bones shifting and muscles stretching taut, towards the ball. He could see both their hands stretching upwards, battling silently for the ball.

In that moment, he felt the tension in the stadium rise to almost a breaking point- instinctively, he knew that the team who got the ball first would have an instant split second advantage over the other.

Akira let out a grunt as her hand made a resounding contact with the ball- at the same moment, Kana's hand gripped the ball on the opposite side, trying to force it away from Akira's grasp.

Gritting her teeth, she strained harder. She felt the iron-solid force from Kana that was holding her firmly in place- she knew that one second of distraction would give the white-haired captain the chink in the armour that she needed to gain the ball.

A silent battle was going on, and neither of them was giving way. Akira could see the strain evident, however faintly, in Kana's eyes- she was not finding it any easier than her.

A guttural yell escaped through Akira's tight lips as she literally tore at the ball, her fingers becoming almost talons, claw-like as she ripped the ball away from Kana and sent it flying straight into the waiting hands of Sora.

There was a faint look of surprise on Kana's face, but a strange, twisted excitement as well. Tezuka noted that she didn't look in the least bit disappointed.

The game was moving quickly now- far quicker than he would have liked. Sora had already made it halfway to the basket, before the Jyosei player who was defending her had managed to get in front and stop her dash. And seeing as she was a head taller than the blonde, there was not much other option than to pass.

And pass Sora did. To be fair, it had been a very good pass- excellent, really. It had made it into the hands of Rei, who had immediately pivoted to aim for the basket.

But quick as a flash, her defender was there, huge body positioned intimidatingly between the shooting guard and the basket.

A groan came from Kikumaru and Momoshiro, who were both already on their feet, cheering for the Seigaku team wildly. "Aw, come on! Let her score!"

"She can't shoot now, nya!"

All of the regulars found themselves glued to the game, unable to take their eyes off. Even Echizen, the perpetually bored one, was very interested in how the game was progressing. For once, his eyes were fully focused on the match in front of him, watching everything that happened intently.

Around them, the cheering and chanting grew only ever louder, as the spectators roared with the addictive excitement of the game.

Meanwhile, Rei had evidently decided it was too difficult to bypass her defender, but didn't seem like she was going to pass any time soon. It was not a matter of _wouldn't_, it was more like _couldn't. _Every single one of the Seigaku players was guarded closely by the Jyosei players, who spared not even a jot of attention from their mark.

Rei glanced towards Akira, who was currently attempting to get past Kana, the white-haired girl watching her like a hawk as she mirrored her footsteps, staying in front at all times.

She could see the red-haired power forward growing increasingly frustrated- the Jyosei captain was like a dog, hounding her every step relentlessly.

Rei was beginning to understand why Saito Kana was known as 'the Iron Wall' of Jyosei.

* * *

After a minute or so of passing and a few scares, both teams were yet to score, tied on zero points each. The ball had found itself in the hands of Rei again, in a situation eerily like the one a minute previously.

With a swift glance, the shooting guard ascertained that neither Shizuka nor Yuki were able to receive a pass. Both of them were clearly unable to get past their respective defenders- Sora had been right. Jyosei more than lived up to its name of a dark horse defence team.

Another quick look told Rei that passing to Sora would be an exceptionally dangerous move. The point guard, standing almost at the half-way line, was not as closely guarded by her defender- but if she was unable to get past her defender with the ball, it would be worse than the current situation.

That left only Akira as an option, or to drive for the basket and shoot herself. Rei knew that if she used _Shinkiro_, she would definitely score, but Sora's words rang in her mind.

_Don't use your new move yet. _

Rei had been playing basketball with Sora together for years now, and she knew that her friend and captain never made any kind of decision without a legitimate reason. And she trusted her now to make the right choice.

And so, with a split half-second glance at Akira, whose golden eyes caught hers, Rei raised her hands into a shooting position, and took the final step backwards.

Her defender was shocked by this sudden move- she had been sure that Rei was not going to attempt such a precarious shot from that position. But she immediately reacted, lunging to stop the ball from being shot. "Hell, no you don't!"

But it was already too late. Rei had released the ball, and it soared in a high arc through the air, hundreds of eyes around the stadium following its path.

Kana, after watching it closely, turned away with a cursory "It won't make it" to the Jyosei player standing near her.

In the stands, many shared her opinion- even Kikumaru turned away with a disappointed sigh. "The ball was too high and not far enough. It's not going to go in."

But as Tezuka watched Rei, he saw no trace of the dismay that the rest of the stadium was feeling. Rather, there was a queer smile on her face, something that he had become _very_ familiar with over many years playing tennis with Fuji.

It was the smile when you have something up your sleeve that your opponent doesn't know about.

And sure enough, suddenly around the stadium there was the echo of surprised, shocked cries.

Kana turned around, looking to see what was going on, just in time to see Akira gone from her previous position. She whirled around, shocked. "_What?_"

Indeed, the red-haired girl had gone streaking down the court, leg muscles straining as with a yell, she leapt into the air and reached for the ball that was falling just in front of the basket. "Don't underestimate us!"

Time seemed to freeze as every player watched either helplessly or hopefully, unable to move in time to interfere.

All except for one person.

Without a single sound, Kana had dashed after Akira and had leapt into the air before her, in order to catch up with the Seigaku power forward. There was a focused, rather detached look on her face as Akira jerked with shock at the sudden appearance of a defender.

"You're a hundred years too early to get past me."

Akira's hand made contact with the ball, just as Kana managed to get her hands up in time to block the powerful dunk shot. And so began the struggle for power again.

Tension filled the stadium as the two furiously attempted to force the ball in their desired direction. Many of the players started forward, but realized the uselessness of interfering, and backed away.

The struggle was silent, and neither player was willing to give way. But finally, with a strangled half-yell, Akira wrenched the ball away from Kana's hands and jammed it into the basket with a triumphant shout.

Momoshiro fell back with relief. "She got it in!" And many believed the same as him.

But they were proven wrong. A hand suddenly reached for the ball again, and suddenly the ball was out of the basket, bouncing slowly away towards the sidelines. Akira fell back heavily, landing on her back with a painful jolt. But the numb pain didn't register at all, as she stared up with the utmost shock at Kana, who had landed beside her.

The detached look was still on her face, and she merely dusted herself off before walking slowly towards the ball that had rolled out of bounds. She was seemingly oblivious to the stunned, silent reaction of the audience; even the referee had let the whistle fall out of his open mouth, forgetting to call the out of bounds.

Kana finally turned towards Akira, grey eyes inscrutable and wintry, like the chilly trail of icy fingers around her neck. Not even the Jyosei players dared to speak or move in the face of their captain's intimidating aura. "I told you already," she said in a cold, but somehow still not arrogant voice to the stunned red-head.

"_No one gets past me." _

The whistle finally blew.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you for reading! Please review- if this story gets more than two hundred reviews by the time it is finished, I would be incredibly happy. Speaking of which- I've decided the _number hundred and one _reviewer (so the first person to review this chapter), AND the last reviewer by the time I post the next chapter in a week, will be allowed a sneak teaser for my one-shot _Nothing So Well_, which is set five years after the end of _Shattered Fragments._ That's two people who get to see a preview!So review, review, and then maybe I'll update soon! :)

P.S. If the first or last person is a guest reviewer, then I'm sorry about not being about to PM you the teaser. You may have to give me an email or some way to contact you :(


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